European leather industry partners join forces in video promoting responsibly produced leather
1 March 2018
A group of European leather industry players, supported by Leather Naturally, has launched a video in English and German to promote responsibly produced leather.
The video was produced with the support of various European leather industry partners – tanneries, leather chemical manufacturers and brands – to highlight the facts about leather.
The video, that was shot at European tanneries and in which spokespersons of fashion brands Lloyd shoes and BREE Collection are being interviewed, counteracts the negative publicity the leather industry has been getting lately. It promotes the use of globally-manufactured sustainable leather and informs about its beauty, quality and versatility. The video encourages consumers to choose products made from certified, sustainably produced leather. It is supported by a factsheet ‘facts about leather’ that Leather Naturally recently developed.
Mike Redwood, Visiting Professor at the University of Northampton and spokesperson of Leather Naturally said: “As Leather Naturally’s spokesperson I receive a lot of questions about leather related to animal welfare, safety and sustainability. I also see a lot of fake facts about leather appear in the media. I see this video as an important step in informing the buying public about the beauty, versatility and sustainability of leather.”
Representatives from A+B Hides, HELLER-LEDER, Lederfabrik Josef Heinen and Wollsdorf Leather say “With this video we want to get the message across that a responsible tanner cares about leather as a natural material and that this goes hand in hand with corporate responsibility. Still too many consumers are unaware that animals are not killed to make leather, and that animal skin can only become high-quality leather if the animal has been treated well.”
The representatives also said that “consumers often do not know that nowadays the majority of tanneries are modern production facilities in which employees wear Personal Protective Equipment and that chemicals are obtained from registered sources that are monitored and licensed by the authorities.
Next to this, many tanneries have their own water purification system nowadays or use a shared system that treats the wastewater, and they either re-use it in their own production process or return completely clean water back to the natural water cycle. It is truly time for us as leather industry partners to join forces and get these facts out.”
