Leather: a gift of nature!

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According to FAO data, there are around 1,600 million cattle, 1,150 million sheep and 1,000 million goats in the world.

The reasons for keeping animals are manifold and range from raising them for dairy and meat, to using them as a source of social prestige, assets, power or a convenient means of transport.

Livestock keeps our pastureland and its biodiversity in good shape.

Where livestock is farmed, animal welfare standards are essential and the EU Animal Welfare Policy includes the ”Five Freedoms for the Welfare of Farmed Animals”.  

Animal welfare is an ethical duty. An obligation that only has advantages; only well-groomed and healthy animals produce quality milk and, at the end of their lives, a tasty meat. Moreover, only well treated animals enjoy a healthy hide or skin, which tanners can then process into beautiful leather.

Conversely, a lack of or poor animal welfare has only adverse consequences. There is, of course, animal suffering, but also farmers enduring losses, and, at the end of the chain, a tanner who doesn’t get a quality feedstock. Animal diseases, parasitic attacks, injuries or skin allergies are all revealed when hides/skins are transformed into leather. 

Tanners can read hides and skins like in an open book. They can identify the way the animal has been treated during life and whether the slaughter and the flaying has been performed professionally. The less defects they find, the better the animals have been treated.

A good quality hide/skin yields a good quality leather. Where possible, European tanners pick and choose only the best. They invest time, resources and efforts in transparency and traceability so as to feed the information on defects back into their upstream supply chains and help continuously improve the quality through better animal welfare.

More quality leather means a more sustainable value chain; less waste, better ethics and more prosperity for everybody!

Edited in December 2021 by

In collaboration with

Leather: a gift of nature!

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According to FAO data, there are around 1,600 million cattle, 1,150 million sheep and 1,000 million goats in the world.

The reasons for keeping animals are manifold and range from raising them for dairy and meat, to using them as a source of social prestige, assets, power or a convenient means of transport.

Livestock keeps our pastureland and its biodiversity in good shape.

Where livestock is farmed, animal welfare standards are essential and the EU Animal Welfare Policy includes the ”Five Freedoms for the Welfare of Farmed Animals”.  

Animal welfare is an ethical duty. An obligation that only has advantages; only well-groomed and healthy animals produce quality milk and, at the end of their lives, a tasty meat. Moreover, only well treated animals enjoy a healthy hide or skin, which tanners can then process into beautiful leather.

Conversely, a lack of or poor animal welfare has only adverse consequences. There is, of course, animal suffering, but also farmers enduring losses, and, at the end of the chain, a tanner who doesn’t get a quality feedstock. Animal diseases, parasitic attacks, injuries or skin allergies are all revealed when hides/skins are transformed into leather. 

Tanners can read hides and skins like in an open book. They can identify the way the animal has been treated during life and whether the slaughter and the flaying has been performed professionally. The less defects they find, the better the animals have been treated.

A good quality hide/skin yields a good quality leather. Where possible, European tanners pick and choose only the best. They invest time, resources and efforts in transparency and traceability so as to feed the information on defects back into their upstream supply chains and help continuously improve the quality through better animal welfare.

More quality leather means a more sustainable value chain; less waste, better ethics and more prosperity for everybody!

Edited in December 2021 by

In collaboration with

Leather the best of many worlds!

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The way we look at materials has changed very significantly. When primitive man discovered that animal hides could protect him from harsh weather, leather was just a thing that was available and useful. Now it’s a material. However it is a material of excellence, combining the best of many worlds in a unique way!

The best in a world of heritage
Always present alongside mankind, leather evolved from a simple layer of clothing and protection to become an element of culture in totems and amulets, musical instruments, sheets of parchment or book covers, a material that could embellish the most diverse handicrafts. It’s hard to find a culture that has not integrated leather in its traditions.

The best in a world of durability
Leather is an example of endurance. Leather articles can be maintained and repaired extending their useful life. Lasting a lifetime, they may be passed on to the next generations. Indeed, in the world of materials, there is nothing more beautiful than aged leather.

The best in a world of sustainability
Today more than ever, it is essential to ensure sustainability.
Tanners recover hides and skins as a residue from the food industry and recycle them into leather so that they do not pile up as waste. Unlike fossil fuels, the feedstock for leather is renewable.
In addition, thanks to modern technology, leather has offset the negative impacts of its complex production process; cleaning wastewater and turning solid waste into useful goods, such as fertilizers, tallow or glue. A perfect example of circular economy.

The best in a world of fashion and design
In the past leather was only available in limited shades and textures. Today it is like a chameleon, thanks to the multiple aspects it can take. Designers and fashion lovers can find leather in any colour, with any desired hardness or softness, thick or thin, glossy or matt… There are no limits to creativity.

The best in a world of performance
Leather is also known for its outstanding and unique physical properties.
Breathable and comfortable, resistant to tear and stretch, as well as to sunlight and water, this biomaterial boasts physical, chemical and fastness performances that are unmatched by the alternatives.

Look at it from any angle, leather is the best of many worlds!
Enjoy leather! Good for you, good for the planet

Edited in November 2021 by

in collaboration with

Leather the best of many worlds!

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The way we look at materials has changed very significantly. When primitive man discovered that animal hides could protect him from harsh weather, leather was just a thing that was available and useful. Now it’s a material. However it is a material of excellence, combining the best of many worlds in a unique way!

The best in a world of heritage
Always present alongside mankind, leather evolved from a simple layer of clothing and protection to become an element of culture in totems and amulets, musical instruments, sheets of parchment or book covers, a material that could embellish the most diverse handicrafts. It’s hard to find a culture that has not integrated leather in its traditions.

The best in a world of durability
Leather is an example of endurance. Leather articles can be maintained and repaired extending their useful life. Lasting a lifetime, they may be passed on to the next generations. Indeed, in the world of materials, there is nothing more beautiful than aged leather.

The best in a world of sustainability
Today more than ever, it is essential to ensure sustainability.
Tanners recover hides and skins as a residue from the food industry and recycle them into leather so that they do not pile up as waste. Unlike fossil fuels, the feedstock for leather is renewable.
In addition, thanks to modern technology, leather has offset the negative impacts of its complex production process; cleaning wastewater and turning solid waste into useful goods, such as fertilizers, tallow or glue. A perfect example of circular economy.

The best in a world of fashion and design
In the past leather was only available in limited shades and textures. Today it is like a chameleon, thanks to the multiple aspects it can take. Designers and fashion lovers can find leather in any colour, with any desired hardness or softness, thick or thin, glossy or matt… There are no limits to creativity.

The best in a world of performance
Leather is also known for its outstanding and unique physical properties.
Breathable and comfortable, resistant to tear and stretch, as well as to sunlight and water, this biomaterial boasts physical, chemical and fastness performances that are unmatched by the alternatives.

Look at it from any angle, leather is the best of many worlds!
Enjoy leather! Good for you, good for the planet

Edited in November 2021 by

in collaboration with

COP26 – Leather Manifesto

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Swedish Tanners Association, along with 30 other international leather industry organizations, call on the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow 31st Oct – 12th Nov to prioritise natural materials as a means of directly mitigating climate impact. The “Leather Manifesto,” written by the organisations, challenges the COP26 to recognise the cyclical, climate-efficient characteristics of natural fibres and their potential to reduce the climate impacts of consumer products.

Our Materials Impact our Climate

The world needs materials that are sustainable, renewable, recyclable, biodegradable, and most importantly, do not add to the burden of atmospheric carbon.

Natural fibres, such as leather, cotton, wool, mohair, alpaca, silk, hemp and mycelium, are part of the biogenic carbon cycle and as such are comprised of carbon that has been in the atmosphere for a millennia.

These readily available raw materials, when ethically and properly produced, are an important replacement for fossil fuels, reducing the need for its extraction and retaining more carbon in the earth.

Furthermore, at the end of life, properly produced natural materials will biodegrade, limiting their impact and mitigating harmful emissions, such as microplastic pollution, often associated with the synthetic materials that they replace.

With particular reference to leather, the leather manufacturing sector upcycles an unavoidable waste from the food industry, to produce a versatile, durable, unique material, ideal for the circular economy that the world must move towards.

However, these same materials are often dismissed through a lack of understanding of the manufacturing process and its supply chain, or through the application of questionable science generally in the form of incomplete and incomparable or out-dated Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), and the marketing of new, often fossil fuel-based materials claiming unsubstantiated levels of sustainability.

As shown by some emerging climate science studies, such as the GWP* model, production and use of biogenic materials typically does not add to the warming burden of the atmosphere, and where it does, the effects are short-lived. This is in contrast to materials produced from fossil-fuels, which release carbon that has been locked in the earth’s core for a millennia, and will persist in the environment, contributing to climate change.

Therefore, we, the undersigned organisations, call on the COP26 forum to…

…Recognise the cyclical, climate efficient nature of natural fibres and their potential for a positive contribution to reducing the climate impacts of consumer products.

…Encourage the use of natural fibres wherever feasible and reduce unnecessary reliance on fossil-fuel-based materials.


…Support LCA methodologies that accurately account for the environmental impact of fossil-fuel based materials, including end of life properties.

…Promote ‘slow fashion’, durable products, and items that can be used many times, repaired and refurbished, and last for years.

Signatories to the Leather Manifesto

Associação Portuguesa dos Industriais de Curtumes (APIC – Portugal Tanners’s Association)

Asociación Española del Curtido (ACEXPIEL – Spanish Tanners’ Association)

Assocation of Dutch Hide Traders (V.N.H.)

Australiean Hide Skin and Leather Exporters’ Association Inc. (AHSLEA)

Cámara de la Industria de Curtiduría – México (CANALCUR)

Centre for the Brazilian Tanning Industry (CICB)

Centro Tecnológico das Indústrias do Couro (CTIC – Leather Center in Portugal)

China Leather Industry Association

Confederation of National Associations of Tanners and Dressers of the European Community (COTANCE)

Dutch Association of Leather Chemists & Technicians (NVLST)

International Council of Hides, Skins and Leather Traders Association (ICHSLTA)

International Council of Tanners (ICT)

International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies (IULTCS)

Fachverband der Textil-, Bekleidungs-, Schuh- und Lederindustrie – Berufsgruppe Ledererzeugende Industrie (Austrian Association of Textile, Clothing, Shoe and Leather Industry – Leather Producing Industry Group)

Fédération Française des Cuirs et Peaux (French Hides & Skins Federation)

Fédération Française Tannerie Megisserie (French Tanners Association)

Leather and Hide Council of America

Leather Cluster Barcelona

Leather and Hide Council of America

Leather Cluster Barcelona

Leather Naturally

Leather UK

Leather Working Group

One 4 Leather

Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists

Sustainable Leather Foundation

Swedish Tanners Association

Turkish Leather Industrialists Association (TLIA)

UNIC Concerie Italiane (Italian Tanneries Association)

Verband der Deutschen Lederindustrie e.V. (TUV – German Leather Federation)

Wirtschaftsverband Häute/Leder (WHL – German Hide and Leather Association)

Zimbabwe Leather Development Council

COP26 – Leather Manifesto

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Svenska Garveriidkareföreningen har tillsammans med ett 30-tal internationella läderorganisationer lämnat bifogade manifest till FNs Klimatkonferens COP26 i Glasgow 31 oktober – 12 november där vi manar till användning av naturliga material och utmanar COP26 att erkänna de cykliska och klimateffektiva egenskaperna hos naturfibrer och deras potential att minska klimatpåverkan från konsumentprodukter.

Our Materials Impact our Climate

The world needs materials that are sustainable, renewable, recyclable, biodegradable, and most importantly, do not add to the burden of atmospheric carbon.

Natural fibres, such as leather, cotton, wool, mohair, alpaca, silk, hemp and mycelium, are part of the biogenic carbon cycle and as such are comprised of carbon that has been in the atmosphere for a millennia.

These readily available raw materials, when ethically and properly produced, are an important replacement for fossil fuels, reducing the need for its extraction and retaining more carbon in the earth.

Furthermore, at the end of life, properly produced natural materials will biodegrade, limiting their impact and mitigating harmful emissions, such as microplastic pollution, often associated with the synthetic materials that they replace.

With particular reference to leather, the leather manufacturing sector upcycles an unavoidable waste from the food industry, to produce a versatile, durable, unique material, ideal for the circular economy that the world must move towards.

However, these same materials are often dismissed through a lack of understanding of the manufacturing process and its supply chain, or through the application of questionable science generally in the form of incomplete and incomparable or out-dated Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), and the marketing of new, often fossil fuel-based materials claiming unsubstantiated levels of sustainability.

As shown by some emerging climate science studies, such as the GWP* model, production and use of biogenic materials typically does not add to the warming burden of the atmosphere, and where it does, the effects are short-lived. This is in contrast to materials produced from fossil-fuels, which release carbon that has been locked in the earth’s core for a millennia, and will persist in the environment, contributing to climate change.

Therefore, we, the undersigned organisations, call on the COP26 forum to…

…Recognise the cyclical, climate efficient nature of natural fibres and their potential for a positive contribution to reducing the climate impacts of consumer products.

…Encourage the use of natural fibres wherever feasible and reduce unnecessary reliance on fossil-fuel-based materials.


…Support LCA methodologies that accurately account for the environmental impact of fossil-fuel based materials, including end of life properties.

…Promote ‘slow fashion’, durable products, and items that can be used many times, repaired and refurbished, and last for years.

Signatories to the Leather Manifesto

Associação Portuguesa dos Industriais de Curtumes (APIC – Portugal Tanners’s Association)

Asociación Española del Curtido (ACEXPIEL – Spanish Tanners’ Association)

Assocation of Dutch Hide Traders (V.N.H.)

Australiean Hide Skin and Leather Exporters’ Association Inc. (AHSLEA)

Cámara de la Industria de Curtiduría – México (CANALCUR)

Centre for the Brazilian Tanning Industry (CICB)

Centro Tecnológico das Indústrias do Couro (CTIC – Leather Center in Portugal)

China Leather Industry Association

Confederation of National Associations of Tanners and Dressers of the European Community (COTANCE)

Dutch Association of Leather Chemists & Technicians (NVLST)

International Council of Hides, Skins and Leather Traders Association (ICHSLTA)

International Council of Tanners (ICT)

International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies (IULTCS)

Fachverband der Textil-, Bekleidungs-, Schuh- und Lederindustrie – Berufsgruppe Ledererzeugende Industrie (Austrian Association of Textile, Clothing, Shoe and Leather Industry – Leather Producing Industry Group)

Fédération Française des Cuirs et Peaux (French Hides & Skins Federation)

Fédération Française Tannerie Megisserie (French Tanners Association)

Leather and Hide Council of America

Leather Cluster Barcelona

Leather and Hide Council of America

Leather Cluster Barcelona

Leather Naturally

Leather UK

Leather Working Group

One 4 Leather

Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists

Sustainable Leather Foundation

Swedish Tanners Association

Turkish Leather Industrialists Association (TLIA)

UNIC Concerie Italiane (Italian Tanneries Association)

Verband der Deutschen Lederindustrie e.V. (TUV – German Leather Federation)

Wirtschaftsverband Häute/Leder (WHL – German Hide and Leather Association)

Zimbabwe Leather Development Council

Leather goes for Zero Allocation

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The leather industry has long argued that as a by-product, our raw materials, hides and skins, should not carry any environmental burden from the rearing of livestock. This is the concept of zero allocation.
What is at stake with zero allocation? There is a debate when determining the carbon footprint of animal by-products. Two sides oppose each other.

One side, which includes slaughterhouses, is convinced that the carbon emissions caused by a cow during its lifetime must be distributed among meat and milk and also all by-products.
For hides, this results in a carbon dioxide (CO2) burden derived from agriculture, which is added to leather. This gives a disadvantage to animal by-products compared to, for example, synthetic products.

The other side, including the tanners, stands for zero allocation. This means that only the products that the animal was reared for, i.e. meat and milk, should carry the CO2 burden from animal husbandry. Unlike the primary products of livestock rearing, meat and milk, by-products like hides and skins may not always be further processed (e.g. because the carbon footprint is too large), and become waste. In the 2008 and 2020 crises, this happened with a large number of hides and skins.

If the skins available worldwide were disposed of to landfill, their decomposition would create significant additional CO2, amounting to approximately 5 million tons of harmful climate gases.

According to the US EPA emissions equivalencies calculator, that corresponds to the annual emissions of 1,087,400 average cars.
That’s quite a saving! Don’t waste this resource, use it!

Edited in October 2021 by

in collaboration with

Leather goes for Zero Allocation

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The leather industry has long argued that as a by-product, our raw materials, hides and skins, should not carry any environmental burden from the rearing of livestock. This is the concept of zero allocation.
What is at stake with zero allocation? There is a debate when determining the carbon footprint of animal by-products. Two sides oppose each other.

One side, which includes slaughterhouses, is convinced that the carbon emissions caused by a cow during its lifetime must be distributed among meat and milk and also all by-products.
For hides, this results in a carbon dioxide (CO2) burden derived from agriculture, which is added to leather. This gives a disadvantage to animal by-products compared to, for example, synthetic products.

The other side, including the tanners, stands for zero allocation. This means that only the products that the animal was reared for, i.e. meat and milk, should carry the CO2 burden from animal husbandry. Unlike the primary products of livestock rearing, meat and milk, by-products like hides and skins may not always be further processed (e.g. because the carbon footprint is too large), and become waste. In the 2008 and 2020 crises, this happened with a large number of hides and skins.

If the skins available worldwide were disposed of to landfill, their decomposition would create significant additional CO2, amounting to approximately 5 million tons of harmful climate gases.According to the US EPA emissions equivalencies calculator, that corresponds to the annual emissions of 1,087,400 average cars.
That’s quite a saving! Don’t waste this resource, use it!

edited in October 2021 by

in collaboration with

Leather goes for Zero Allocation

/i /av

The leather industry has long argued that as a by-product, our raw materials, hides and skins, should not carry any environmental burden from the rearing of livestock. This is the concept of zero allocation.
What is at stake with zero allocation? There is a debate when determining the carbon footprint of animal by-products. Two sides oppose each other.

One side, which includes slaughterhouses, is convinced that the carbon emissions caused by a cow during its lifetime must be distributed among meat and milk and also all by-products.
For hides, this results in a carbon dioxide (CO2) burden derived from agriculture, which is added to leather. This gives a disadvantage to animal by-products compared to, for example, synthetic products.

The other side, including the tanners, stands for zero allocation. This means that only the products that the animal was reared for, i.e. meat and milk, should carry the CO2 burden from animal husbandry. Unlike the primary products of livestock rearing, meat and milk, by-products like hides and skins may not always be further processed (e.g. because the carbon footprint is too large), and become waste. In the 2008 and 2020 crises, this happened with a large number of hides and skins.

If the skins available worldwide were disposed of to landfill, their decomposition would create significant additional CO2, amounting to approximately 5 million tons of harmful climate gases.According to the US EPA emissions equivalencies calculator, that corresponds to the annual emissions of 1,087,400 average cars.
That’s quite a saving! Don’t waste this resource, use it!

edited in October 2021 by

in collaboration with

Aniline and Nubuck Leather – for anyone who loves the Exceptional

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Real leather is available in different fine, refined and premium types. Here you can learn more about these some of the premium and soft leathers.

Aniline leather is pure real leather and the finest leather available. Although it is available in various colours, the surface is not coated. The natural characteristics of the hide are thereby preserved, and any natural characteristic, however small, such as the grains, remains visible. The result is an extremely soft and supple leather with a natural look. Only flawless hides are processed into aniline leather, which makes this type of leather extremely valuable and also expensive.

Nubuck leather has a velvet-like finish. The leather is buffed, creating a soft, velvety and warm surface. It is highly breathable and able to wick away sweat, ensuring a high level of wearing comfort while maintaining the protective function for which leather is known. Nubuck is used in upholstered furniture, handbags, clothing, shoes, gloves and as automotive leather.

It’s all about the right care!
Leather is subject to a natural ageing process. Just like good wine, it matures and gains its own unique character over time. Delicate natural leather can be kept beautiful for a long time when treated and cared for properly.

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