A natural raw material, leather could actually be technically classified as a biomaterial. However, not all processes that are used are earth-friendly. How does the Leather Manifesto look at this issue?
Yes, you are right, leather can be technically classified as biomaterial. And you are right, like any other material processing, also the leather industry has processes that need to be improved. The COP26 Leather Manifesto tried to focus on the fact that leather as a bio-material will be available for as long as people consume dairy and eat meat. Alternative materials are largely originating from fossil fuels and the Manifesto urges society to keep these fossil fuels in the earth to prevent further heating up of our planet when bio-materials are largely available.
Processing is where you can take a raw material as a by-product from another industry and add a significant footprint if not handled accordingly. And this is rampant in the leather industry in smaller pockets of mid-size players in Asia and other places. What steps are being taken to firstly ensure that all of the nonearth-friendly steps are done away with?
The leather industry has gone through a major development in the last 10 years. The launch of initiatives like the Leather Working Group, focusing on environmentally auditing leather manufacturers and the launch of the ZDHC to focus on safer chemistry has been very good developments. Also, chemical companies have made tremendous progress in developing chemistry originating from bio-based materials instead of fossil based materials. It is good to realise that, for example, fatliquors used in the manufacturing of leather have always largely been originating from vegetable or animal origin. Next to this, there has been enormous developments in innovating new tanning systems that can support the next step in improving production processes. Many technical solutions have been invented already, it is now up to the industry to embrace them and further strengthen the ecofriendly production of leather.
Obviously because of all this and not wrongly so there is also a lot of misinformation. What steps do you take to counter the supposed misinformation? Do you think leather has an information problem?
Yes, leather certainly has an information problem and yes, there is a lot of purposely brought misinformation. Leather Naturally recently commissioned a consumer survey in the UK and it came out that 50% of the audience said they thought it derives from animals, which are raised specifically to make leather. And only 24% of the respondents were aware that hides or skins used to make leather are a by-product of the food industry that otherwise would go to waste. The industry increasingly is realising that we need to invest more in fact-based communication to consumers, but also to brands and designers. As a society, we should prevent that we are going to make regrettable choices by replacing leather with fossil fuel (plastics, PVC, PU) based material. It is important that we communicate that leather is an important material in a society where there is no waste, where everything can be re-used, re-cycled and ultimately be biodegradable. Leather is having all that!
How many companies globally have aligned with ‘Our Materials Impact our Climate’ since November 2021. What steps are being taken to bring more into the fold?
The leather industry is increasingly embracing initiatives like the COP26 Leather Manifesto, understanding that we need to take pride in our material leather and the fact that the leather industry is part of the solution to create a circular society. As an industry, we are now preparing for future COPs and will continue to create scientific data sets that proof that leather is part of the solution.
Any roadmap chalked out or being chalked out to upskill midsize players in the leather industry to help them upgrade to cleaner processes?
In principle, I believe that every single company should have its own roadmap to improvements. And initiatives like LWG, SLF, CICB, ICEC, Oekotex, ZDHC and others have great programmes in place to support all leather value chain members to take the next steps to improvement. Organisations like Leather Naturally will continue to support collaborations and will continue to lead the industry in education and promotion. Governments have an important role to play as well to ensure that legislation and enforcement of legislation is supporting the creation of a circular society. And not to forget the ethical role of brands. Brands need to tell their customers, the final consumer, what a material is composed of. The UK consumer research that I mentioned earlier resulted that 54% of consumers have no clue what ‘vegan leather’ is made of. It is important that consumers realise that so called ‘vegan alternative materials’ are largely made out of PU, PVC, plastics.
Leather that is environment-friendly and sustainably manufactured (including taking care of animal rights issues) is a good fit for slow fashion. It finds a mention in the manifesto. What steps are being taken to spread this across the community?
You are right that well made leather, made with respect for animals is a good fit for slow fashion. And luckily the leather value chain is realising this, with many good initiatives taken to make this happen. The leather manufacturing auditing programmes are increasingly including these topics in their auditing programmes. We all together have an important task to ensure that we are taking the right decisions. Regretfully, it will always be possible to find a bad example in every industry including the leather industry. It is, however, important that we continue to focus on the bigger picture. And the bigger picture is that the leather industry is increasingly audited from farms, to meatpackers, to leather manufacturers, chemical companies and leather goods manufacturers. This all will support the creation of an ethical and circular society.
Will there be any lessons for the leather industry following the recently announced EU Strategy for sustainable and circular textiles to crack down on fast fashion and textile waste?
These developments should give another boost for the leather industry. Longevity has always been the big advantage of leather and leather goods. A leather handbag or a pair or leather boots can last a long time and can be repaired, creating income for many people. We should create a society where we focus on the environmental and social impact per wear instead of when the impact on a material when it leaves the retail store. With chemical companies taking the lead to create new chemistry that results in biodegradability, the leather industry is able to lead the creation of a circular society where nothing is wasted, everything can be re-used, repaired and be recycled.
The leather industry needs an over-arching organisation/trade body/ngo to counsel and handhold the small and mid size leather player to tread the path of sustainability. Any thoughts in that direction?
The leather industry is having many national leather industry associations which could lead domestic leather manufacturers. Many of them are an associate member of Leather Naturally as well. Leather Naturally will continue to unite the industry and support the industry with fact-based information how leather is made, why it is an important solution for a circular society and how it is supporting to help many people out of poverty. For many years, leather was a material that was made using individual skills. Have you ever seen how a bag, a belt or a pair of shoes is made? Many people forget that these products are not made by machines, but by real trained and highly skilled people who put their efforts in creating beauty and comfort for the end consumer. And this end-consumer will be able to contribute to a circular society by choosing leather.
How has the pandemic impacted the leather industry worldwide? Durable, sustainable, versatile and circular with integrity, you wrote someplace. How do you think can leather achieve this branding?
The pandemic has had a huge impact on the leather industry just like in many others industries. But especially now, we should have learned the importance of sustainability. We notice many brands who realise that they have an ethical duty to support a circular society. And leather is just the perfect material for this. It will be crucial that our global society is going to favour scientific data over emotions. Leather Naturally together with the Leather Working Group just celebrated World Leather Day, a special moment to show the beauty of leather and how it can support us all to create a circular society.
