At this year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), the Leather & Hide Council of America (LHCA), a USSA member, joined 25 major leather industry organizations in calling for a reassessment of leather. The COP30 Manifesto for Leather urges negotiating parties to correct distorted perceptions of leather and recognize it as “a positive, renewable biomaterial within a circular economy.”
The manifesto states that current misconceptions stem from the belief that cattle are raised solely for their hides. The reality is that hides are a byproduct of the meat and dairy industries and represent only a small fraction of the animal’s economic value; on average, just 1.5%.
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 and the resulting leather. This gives the false impression of leather as “environmentally costly” when, in fact, it is part of a circular system that gives value to a material that would otherwise go to waste.
“Each year, millions of hides go unused, discarded into landfills or incinerated, precisely because of reduced demand for leather. To abandon leather is not to save a cow. It is to squander a durable, repairable material and replace it with synthetics derived entirely from fossil fuels.”
The manifesto emphasizes that, when responsibly tanned, leather is a natural, renewable biomaterial with an unparalleled lifespan, offering a responsible alternative to today’s fast fashion. To reposition leather as a sustainable material, the signatories urge the COP to:
- Recognize the cyclical, climate-efficient nature of leather. In particular, conduct a full and proper impact assessment of the unfounded claim that leather is a driver of deforestation and develop reliable ways to measure the lifespan of materials and products and their impact on consumption.
- Support LCA methodologies that accurately account for the environmental impact of all materials, particularly when comparing by-products to determining products, including end-of-life properties and the impacts of their use and substitution.
- Promote ‘slow fashion’, bio-based materials and products and items that can be used many times, repaired and refurbished and last for years.
- Encourage the use of natural, renewable fibers like leather and reduce unnecessary reliance on fossil-fuel-based materials.