Putting it into practice – the future of European leather

Leather International: Following the Brussels event in February to end the seminar series, how have the conclusions and recommendations drafted by the European social partners advanced within the European Commission?

Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano: I am quite pleased with the feedback Cotance has received on the ‘A Future For European Leather’ initiative. Our members clearly welcome the manifesto, as it lists the main challenges ahead for our sector and identifies the areas where we have to focus our attention on. But more encouragingly, we received a very positive response from our stakeholders in the leather value chain and from our regulators. Examples of initial positive European Commission reactions could be witnessed from the following services:

• Director-general growth: with regard to false and misleading leather descriptions, the commission has issued a guidance document providing examples of practices banned under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive that applies specifically to leather; terms such as eco-leather, textile leather or claims on leather in car interiors that do not follow accepted industry practice are now publicly understood as prohibited.
• Director-general trade: immediately after the final event, director-general trade addressed the issues of export restrictions on hides and skins with the Indian, Argentinian, Moroccan and Russian authorities. Argentina has eliminated its restrictions on a number of protected items and reduced taxes on others.
• Director-general social affairs: a new commission skills initiative will be specifically available for sectors having developed an EU sector skills council such as the textile, clothing, leather and footwear (TCLF) industry. Among the six pilots that will be supported, the TCLF sector will benefit €2 million over the next three years for setting up and running a sector skills platform.
• Director-general environment: The commission’s ‘Environmental Footprint’ (EF) initiative – in which Cotance leads the leather pilot that drafts the product category rules for leather – will develop an online downloadable SME tool for anyone calculating the leather’s environmental footprint on the basis of the rules developed by Cotance. This will consecrate a more reasonable allocation value for raw hides/skins than the one based exclusively on mass. Yet, zero allocation for raw hides and skins of slaughter animals is still in reach through the application of the ‘End-of-Life formula’ to by-products. For the latter, the EF initiative has accepted that Cotance makes the case by 8 September.

What are the next steps from social partners Cotance and industriAll, and what is in the pipeline from your perspective?

The next steps consist of translating the points made in the manifesto into a fully fledged action plan spanning until 2025, as this was our common objective. Our trade union partners from industriAll and Cotance are currently putting together our respective ‘wish lists’ that we will have to validate in our respective assemblies. On 7–9 June, industriAll held its congress in Madrid and Cotance also held its general assembly in Freiberg on 14 June. From here, we will get a first idea of how the social partners want to articulate the various priorities and with whom; for example, with what stakeholders we intend to implement objectives and projects.

I can’t anticipate Cotance’s discussions over the priorities our businesses want to push forward, but I reckon that one important issue that we will find among them will concern the implementation of due diligence in the global leather value chain. It is a concern that Cotance has been addressing in a number of past initiatives – ‘Social Code of Conduct’, ‘Social & Environmental Reporting’, ‘Transparency/Traceability’, ‘Risk Assessment in Tanneries, and ‘RSL-MRSL’ to name but a few – and that could gain from a sound articulation.

Are there plans to have follow-up seminars organised as mile markers to ensure deadlines and objectives are adhered to?

The EU Social Sectoral Dialogue is one such  marker. IndustriAll and Cotance meet twice a year in a committee, of which one is a plenary meeting where we adopt our work programme after having assessed the results of our common activities. There, we will have the opportunity to monitor results and adjust our joint targets.

Moreover, as you know, we received a very warm welcome from the European Economic and Social Committee. The commission for industrial change has offered to host further encounters of the tanning sector’s social partners and do its part of monitoring with regard to EU policies.

Finally, there is a strong interest among MEPs to eventually set up an ‘intergroup’ together with other interested value chain partners. So, there will be varied set-ups for monitoring developments and applying pressure for results.

What feedback are you getting from member countries from the series and has it fostered better cohesion for European leather, and optimism for growth and jobs within the industry?

It is no secret to anyone that the general assembly in Freiberg was to welcome Austria and Denmark as new members in Cotance. This enlargement is testimony of the success of Cotance initiatives. Moreover, President Muirhead has had very positive discussions earlier this year with UNIC President Russo for a strengthened cooperation.

This is certainly reason for optimism in Cotance and an indication that tanners have optimism for growth and jobs in the industry. Let’s hope that our governments support sound policies with the sector’s good intentions.

What are the commission’s primary concerns, or what impasses remain that might make progress slow, especially in light of the market difficulties European leather is currently facing?

Indeed, the EU faces a number of risks over which industry has no control and the leather industry even less so. The warfare at the doors of the EU – terrorism, the refugee crisis, the dull growth – are all dangerous spells that can have a tremendous impacts on the future, and on the European and global economy. But this impact is unpredictable.

Can you gauge which of the four areas of need for the industry, outlined in the manifesto, would require more focus from the European Commission and social partners than the others, or is each one equally vital and dependent on one another? Recruitment, for example, is certainly an issue we hear a lot about. How is this matter, within the ‘social’ need, being addressed since the skilled labour force required by 2025 has to be addressed now?

All four areas are equally important and interdependent. On skills, I think that we can look forward with optimism in terms of EU support. Now, it is not all about EU support. The industry must pool its efforts, concentrate resources, steer the process and effectively use the instruments put in place through common action. There is no other solution; each individual country and sector in the fashion and luxury value chain is weak. The key word here is critical mass.