Our Brand members have immediate access to an established environmental auditing system that has been developed by the worlds’ leading centre of excellence for the leather industry in conjunction with several major brands and their tanner suppliers.
Other membership benefits include: 1. Reduced manpower and cost requirements to conduct environmental audits 2. In depth assessment and measurement of the tanner’s technical/environmental process and the ability to define improvement 3. A mechanism that supports the promotion of continual improvement in environmental performance 4. Demonstration of your brand’s commitment to environmental protection
Chemical Suppliers, Machinery Suppliers & Technology Suppliers - please click here for our Membership Proposal Pack
LWG expects any brands or suppliers that wish to use the LWG protocol to assess their leather supply chain to be fully engaged, paid up members of the Leather Working Group.
Leather Working Group audited tanneries can be found globally and represent 20% of the world’s production of leather.
The LWG Assessment Protocol for Traders of part-processed material has been developed and refined over two years as the natural progression to allow part-processed material trader LWG members to fully engage in the LWG Programme.
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Leather Manufacturer Certifications
Our objective is to develop/maintain a protocol that assesses the environmental compliance and performance capabilities of leather manufacturers and promotes sustainable environmental practices.
Our philosophy on membership is that brands and suppliers fund the group through annual subscriptions, while leather manufacturers are assessed via the LWG Environmental Audit Protocol.
Approximate number of LWG members globally 650
Approximate percentage of finished leather as a proportion of world production 20%
Average water saved by the LWG rated leather manufacturers each year 12.1 billion litres
Average energy saved by the LWG rated leather manufacturers each year 775 Megawatts
Approximate number of leather manufacturers under certification 450
Approximate volume of leather covered by the certification 3.9 billion ft2
Approximate volume of wet blue under certification 3.2 billion ft2
Approximate volume of wet blue with Grade A traceability 1.9 billion ft2
Average water reduction by category C leather manufacturers over 4 audits 35%
Average water reduction by category D leather manufacturers over 4 audits 30%
Average energy reduction by category C leather manufacturers over 4 audits 48%
Average energy reduction by category D leather manufacturers over 4 audits 33%
LWG hosts two annual Main Member Meetings: one in Spring, to coincide with APLF in Hong Kong, and the second in Autumn to coincide with a European leather fair.
The Leather Working Group is made up of representative parties from different areas of the product supply chain including major brands, tanners, technical experts and other industry representatives. An Executive Committee is elected from the membership of the LWG by its members.