Tanners champion leather as a sustainable material at COP 30
10.11.2025 1551

Tanners champion leather as a sustainable material at COP 30

The COP 30 climate summit begins in Brazil. Tanners are demanding a rethinking of natural leather and its recognition as a sustainable biomaterial that supports a circular economy.

A new manifesto prepared by the International Tannery Council (ICT) calls on negotiators at the Conference of the Parties to COP30 (the United Nations Climate Change Conference), taking place in Belém, Brazil, from November 10 to 21, to correct the "distorted" image of leather. The manifesto has been signed by several major organizations, including Leather Naturally and the Confederation of National Associations of Tanners and Processors of the European Community (COTANCE).

"In today's sustainability discourse, leather is largely undervalued—sometimes vilified, often undervalued, and rarely recognized for its true nature as a renewable, circular byproduct of animal agriculture. This manifesto aims to redress this imbalance and position leather as a positive, renewable biomaterial within a circular economy," the document states.

The industry's appeal stems from debunking the myth that cattle are raised for their hides. Hides are an inevitable byproduct of the meat and dairy industries, accounting on average for only 1,5% of an animal's economic value.

The signatories argue that current life-cycle assessments (LCAs) use a "flawed methodology" that disproportionately attributes emissions from industrial animal agriculture, such as deforestation and methane emissions, to hides. This creates the impression that leather is an environmentally costly product and obscures its role in a closed-loop system that prevents valuable materials from becoming waste. Currently, millions of hides are discarded in landfills or incinerated annually.

"Giving up leather doesn't save the cow. It wastes a durable, repairable material and replaces it with synthetic materials derived exclusively from fossil fuels."

The manifesto emphasizes that, when tanned responsibly, leather is a natural, renewable biomaterial with an unparalleled lifespan. A high-quality leather product lasts for decades, is repairable, and, unlike other materials, is biodegradable.

Leather combines practicality and heritage: shoes can last for years, and a bag made of genuine leather can be passed down as an heirloom rather than thrown away.

In an effort to ensure leather's place in the sustainability agenda, organizations are aleatherg COP30 to endorse specific actions. These include supporting life-cycle assessment methodologies that accurately account for by-products, promoting "slow fashion" and durable bio-based materials that can be used for many years, and formally recognizing the cyclical, climate-efficient nature of leather and its positive contribution to reducing the overall climate impact of consumer goods.

The COP 30 climate summit begins in Brazil. Tanners are demanding a rethinking of natural leather and its recognition as a sustainable biomaterial that supports a circular economy.
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