International Council of Tanners

The International Council of Tanners (ICT), along with 28 other leather industry organisations, have reiterated their call on the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) to recognise the cyclical, climate efficient nature of natural fibres like leather and reduce unnecessary reliance on fossil-fuel-based materials.

Each stakeholder in the leather industry, be it the tanner, trader, supplier or customer must get involved to get leather to a safe place in the mind of new younger consumers, and throughout the supply network involved. There are no impossible hurdles for a determined leather industry to make great strides quickly and set an achievable target date with milestones.

A 'Leather Manifesto' has exhorted the COP27 to recognise the cyclical, climate-efficient characteristics of leather and other natural fibres. It also urged the COP27 to understand the implications of the huge amounts of raw material of leather production, hides and skins, that are currently being thrown away.