Leather is not the driver of deforestation

NEWS 8/2024

European Leather Industry Provides Scientific Evidence in Support of Excluding Leather from the Scope of the EUDR

Leather is not the driver of deforestation—this is obvious to anyone involved in the leather supply chain, from livestock producers to fashion brands. Yet, with leather included in the scope of the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), it became essential to support this fact with comprehensive analysis.

With this September newsletter, we are proud to present scientific evidence supporting the European leather industry’s position in the EUDR Review. The study, “Socio-economic and Environmental Analysis of the Effects of Regulation 2023/1115/EU on the European Leather Sector,” commissioned by UNIC and COTANCE and conducted by Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies of the University of Pisa, was unveiled on September 18, 2024, at the Lineapelle Fair to become a game-changer in defence of our industry.

The study, structured into technical, socio-economic, and environmental assessments,
reveals key findings that will be instrumental for the leather industry during the EUDR review process.

No Direct Link to Deforestation: The study, supported by an extensive technical analysis (94 million+ records, 29,200+ active serial titles, and 330,000+ books) and 28 stakeholder interviews, found no direct link between leather and deforestation. Leather is derived from cattle raised primarily for meat and dairy, and its production does not incentivise cattle farming.

• Severe Economic Impact: The EUDR’s stringent traceability requirements could severely disrupt the European cattle hide supply chain, leaving European tanners without needed raw materials. This could force businesses to close and result in significant job losses across the industry’s supply chain.

• Environmental Risks of Alternatives: The study warns that short-circuiting the European leather industry and replacing leather with synthetic alternatives like polyurethane leather-like materials (PU LLM) could increase environmental damage, in terms of higher emissions and resource use. Diverting cattle hides to landfills or to countries with weaker environmental standards would undermine the Green Deal’s goals.

At the EUDR event in Lineapelle, a panel of global industry experts unanimously agreed: including leather in the EUDR is illogical and will not reduce cattle-related deforestation. Instead, it risks disrupting supply chains and shifting production to regions with lower environmental standards. 

Panel participants from left to right: Ricardo Andrade (CICB, Brazil), Toni Baltes (German Hide Association WHL, ICHSLTA), Max Engelke (A+B-hides), Micaela Topper (AHSLEA, Australia), Kevin Latner (LHCA, USA) and Dave Harrison (Beef+Lamb, New Zealand).