“With this law, the government recognizes the strategic importance of leather and leather products for the Portuguese economy,” says Nuno Carvalho, president of the trade association APIC and the Couro Azul tanning group. “The government also recognizes the need to protect the sector from fraudulent commercial practices.” It will no longer be allowed in commerce and labeling to associate the word with prefixes, suffixes and qualifying adjectives if the material is not leather.
The Portuguese decree intends to protect consumers from misleading information and competition in the market from practices that can distort it.