LEATHER REPORTExploring the opportunities for a more

sustainable leather industry

SUSTAINABLE SOURCING SERIES // PART I // FABRICS & FIBRES 2016-17

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Image: LULEA by Chesnau

INTRODUCTION:A GLOBAL COMMODITY //

An ancient form of fabric used by humans, leather is now one of the world’s most widely traded commodities. Growing demand for leather goods will likely push sector global revenue to $91 billion by 2018.1

More than half the world’s supply of leather raw material comes from developing countries, with China as world leader. Several supplier countries such as India, Brazil and Ethiopia are expanding their industries into finished products.2

Leather has long stoked strong opinions, due to its origins as a meat industry by-product and increasingly over the environmental and human impact of processing. Identifying sustainable alternatives is complex but, as this report shows, major brands and small-scale innovators alike are taking up the challenge.

Image: Dương Trần Quốc via Unsplash

ORIGINS & PRODUCTION //Around 65 per cent of leather products come from cowhide, followed by sheep, pig and goatskins. The hides are mostly by-products from farming livestock for meat.3 Exotic leathers include snake, alligator, kangaroo, ostrich, deer and fish – some farmed intentionally for their skins.

Broadly speaking, there are three stages in producing leather:

1Obtaining raw material from the hide or skin,

cleaning it and removing hair

2Treating (‘tanning’), rolling, and dyeing the material to

turn it into leather

3Finishing it (colouring,

embossing, waxing) for a specific look and feel The leather is then

manufactured into products like footwear – its

main use – as well as accessories, clothing,

interiors, the car industry and other uses.

Image: Dương Trần Quốc via Unsplash

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT // Leather production as currently practised raises serious sustainability issues. Extensive farming of livestock – the origin of most leather – has severe environmental impacts, such as deforestation, water and land overuse.

All hides are tanned to stop them decomposing. Chromium tanning – dousing hides in drums of water, chromium salts and tanning liquor – is used in 90 per cent of production to give a supple, colour-fast leather.4

It also produces a toxic slush of noxious chemicals and gases, including carcinogenic chromium (VI). In the US and Europe, regulations on this waste are so strict that many tanneries have closed.

In developing countries untreated effluent often flows direct into local waterways. Tanneries in Hazaribagh, Bangladesh, flood the river with wastewater laced with chromium, lead, arsenic and acids.5

WATCH VIDEO: TOXIC TANNERIES, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

HUMAN COSTS // Working in a tannery is extremely hazardous – especially in places where workplace protections are few or non-existent.

In countries such as India, workers – including children as young as 10 – often have little protective equipment or clothing. As well as injury from heavy machinery, they risk exposure to highly toxic chemicals and gases.

Acute effects include irritation to the mouth, airways and eyes; skin reactions; digestive problems, kidney or liver damage if ingested; and long-term cancer and reproductive problems.6

If harmed at work, few workers get compensation and most must simply return to the job. Nor is it uncommon for tanneries to use bonded labour.7

WATCH VIDEOTHE TOXIC PRICE OF LEATHER, SEAN GALLAGHER

SETTING SUSTAINABLE STANDARDS //

Where to begin when searching for suppliers of sustainable leather?

The Leather Working Group (LWG) is a good starting point. A multi-stakeholder group of brands, suppliers, manufacturers, NGOs and end users, LWG uses a protocol to gauge compliance and environmental practices within the leather industry.

Around 42 brands – including Burberry, Asos, H&M, Adidas, LVMH – as well as 36 suppliers, and many more tanneries are LWG members – and the numbers continue to grow.8

ANCIENT TANNING REVIVED //

Leather was not always produced with heavy chemicals.

Ancient Greeks to Victorians tanned hides using vegetable tannins extracted from bark, wood and leaves. (The word tanning derives from tanne – German for fir tree.)

Vegetable tanning produces far less harmful waste, and biodegradable leather. It takes much longer than chemical processing. But it is being revived due to consumer demand.

The Tanners Extract Producers Federation (TEPF) is dedicated to spreading best practice among tanners to promote vegetable leather use for designers and consumers.9

German innovators Deepmello use a rhubarb-based tanning process on rawhides sourced regionally for lower transportation impact. Their clothing, bags and belts showed at Berlin Fashion Week in 2016.10

RAISING THE BAR - PITTARDS & ETHIOPIA //

Based in south-west England, Pittards is a long-established leather producer with trading links to Ethiopia that date back nearly 100 years. The firm, which produces leather and finished products, provides community-wide support for Pittards' employees in Ethiopia – such as an on-site clinic and resources for schools.

Most of Pittards’ Ethiopian-made leather is shipped to premium brands – including Berghaus, Footjoy, Ona Polo – making it the leading leather exporter in Ethiopia. Increasingly, it is used for making dress and work gloves at Pittards’ own plant in Addis Ababa – helping to lead the drive for finished goods manufacturing in Ethiopia.

TARGETS & TRACEABILITY // Brands take different tacks to make their leather more sustainable – such as transparent sourcing or impact targets.

Luxury group Kering has a 100 per cent target for leather from responsible and verified sources. Currently 67 per cent of its luxury brands’ leather – like Gucci, Bottega Veneta – comes from such sources.11

Italy’s Gruppo Dani aims to eliminate CO2 emissions in its leather production. Using enzymes and polysaccharides in processing, its Zero Impact leather is already chrome- and heavy metal-free.12

Small-scale leather goods producer Natureally13 uses only British certified organic rare breed cattle hides and traditional chrome-free tanning. More futuristically, UK-based E-Leather14 recycles leather off-cuts destined for landfill to produce a composition leather.

Bottega Veneta achieved 100% traceability for its Cabat bag starting from its 2014/15 collection

INNOVATION IN SYNTHETICS // Polyester-based alternatives to leather – chiefly PVC (polyvinyl chloride), or PU (polyurethane) – have existed for years, posing their own environmental problems. Artificial leathers and suedes derived from recycled polyester offer a more sustainable solution.

International chemicals group Toray uses polyester from pre-consumer waste to produce Ultrasuede, a microfibre in a range of thicknesses, colours and finishes, for apparel, footwear and other applications. In 2015, Toray announced the first Ultrasuede using plant-based polymers.15

Dinamica is a microfibre suede created by Italy’s Miko using non-toxic dyes and recycled polyester.16

Aiming at luxury footwear and accessory brands, Japan’s Teijin recently unveiled Maestley, a high-grade substitute to rival fine natural leather.17

1 kg of polyester fibre = car energy consumption over 1 km

INSPIRATION FROM NATURE //

Attractive, durable coverings abound in nature – offering inspiration to innovators.

Queork18 produce cork fabric from Mediterranean Cork Oak trees. Known as ‘nature’s leather’, the cork is used for accessories, and is naturally hypoallergenic, waterproof and anti-fungal. Ugandan-German family business BarkCloth19 produce bark-fibre leather, from 98 per cent plant-based materials with polymer reinforcing, for apparel and interiors.

Philippines-based Piñatex20 leather derives from pineapple leaves – an agricultural by-product usually left to rot. Shoe brand Camper and designer Ally Cappellino have already used Piñatex in prototypes.

SOURCE IT NOW // SUSTAINABLE LEATHER

BARKHA’S CUSTOM SOURCING

Barkha’s Custom Sourcing is an independent eco-textile development and sourcing consulting firm based in the US. With the support of their team in India, Barkha’s specialises in sourcing and custom development of organic and sustainable textiles and products from start to finish.

www.barkhascustomsourcing.com

FOUNDING PARTNERS

THE SUSTAINABLE ANGLE are leaders in sourcing innovative sustainable fabrics. Attend their annual Future Fabrics Expo either in person or virtually to discover low impact leather.

ECOLOGICAL TEXTILES offer bark cloth in their online webshop.

SOURCE MEMBERS

Sustainable Sourcing Series 2016 / 17

The SOURCE Sustainable Sourcing Series is the annual showcase of what's happening in sustainable sourcing and a showcase of our SOURCE supplier members.

Running from November ‘16 - March ‘17, it is the world's leading resource for innovation, trends, and insights into sustainable fashion sourcing.

DISCOVER THE LATEST REPORTS ON SUSTAINABLE SOURCING

1 Lucintel (2013) Growth Opportunities in the Global Leather Goods Industry, http://www.lucintel.com/leather_goods_market_2018.aspx.

2 UNIDO (2010) Future Trends in the Leather and Leather Products Industry and Trade, Vienna: United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

3 Leather sustainability website, BLC Technology Centre, www.leathersustainability.com/about-us/?doing_wp_cron=1480948767.4752290248870849609375

4 Leather sustainability website, BLC Technology Centre, www.leathersustainability.com/about-us/?doing_wp_cron=1480948767.4752290248870849609375

5 Human Rights Watch (2012) Toxic Tanneries: The Health Repercussions of Bangladesh’s Hazaribagh Leather.

6 Portland State University EcoPol website: http://leathersustainability.weebly.com/

7 Ernst & Young (2013) Sustainability in the leather supply chain, research report: https://ropalimpia.org/adjuntos/informes/research_on_sustainability.pdf

8 Leather Working Group website: www.leatherworkinggroup.com/lwg-members.htm; Leather sustainability website, BLC Technology Centre, www.leathersustainability.com

9 Veg Leather Hub website, including TEPF details: http://vegleatherhub.com/about-tepf/

REFERENCES //

10 Deepmello website: www.deepmello-leather.com/en/

11 Kering sustainability targets: www.kering.com/en/sustainability/targets/sustainably-sourced-leather

12 Gruppo Dani Zero Impact leather: www.zeroimpactleather.com/en/the-project

13 Natureally leather production: www.natureally.co.uk/

14 E-Leather website: www.eleathergroup.com/about-us/

15 Toray website: www.ultrasuede.com/concept/index.html

16 Miko website for information on Dinamica: www.dinamicamiko.com/en/dinamica/

17 Sourcing Journal (n.d.) ‘Teijin launches new natural leather substitute’, le souk website: https://www.lesouk.co/articles/material-inspiration/teijin-launches-new-natural-leather-substitute

18 Queork: http://www.queork.com

19 Bark Cloth/ Bark Tex website: www.barkcloth.de/produkte/prod_barktex/bt_cutting.cfm?curL=en

20 Piñatex leather website: www.ananas-anam.com/pinatex/

REFERENCES //

The Ethical Fashion SOURCE is Mysource Ltd’s online platform which supports fashion professionals to build successful, sustainable businesses.

Through the online platform, SOURCE provides regular intelligence that aims to inform, inspire, and motivate fashion professionals to do better business. SOURCE members benefit from full access to this intelligence while non-members can still browse top level summaries and free articles.

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