Leather Working Group opens new public consultation on Chain of Custody and due diligence

After more than 700 downloads from around 30 countries, the first public consultation for the core environmental sections of the LWG Leather Production Standard brought a huge amount of important feedback that will help shape the development of new LWG Standards.

 

Now we have opened the consultation period for two new draft documents:

1. Chain of Custody Standard – a separate standard focused on traceability and segregation.
2. Section 15 of the Leather Production Standard – a new section that wasn’t included in the first consultation of the Leather Production Standard concerning due diligence for responsible sourcing.

 

The LWG Chain of Custody Standard will replace the current Traceability sections of the LWG Protocol 7 to complement the new LWG Leather Production Standard that will be introduced in 2026.
This latest public consultation runs until 30th November, 2025, and represents a new opportunity to share your feedback about two new documents. 

 

Why is a Chain of Custody Standard important? Creating a Chain of Custody Standard is an important step towards making claims about LWG-certified leather and improving supply chain traceability and transparency. This first draft was shaped through extensive discussions with our Chain of Custody Task Team, which recommended breaking up the documents into distinct parts.

What is due diligence for responsible sourcing and what will it cover? Due diligence for responsible sourcing is the process of finding, preventing, reducing and reporting any actual or potential negative impacts of sourcing on people and the planet. Companies covered by the LWG Production Standard will be encouraged to carry out deforestation due diligence. This should follow the OECD-FAO Business Handbook on Deforestation and Due Diligence in Agricultural Supply Chains, or a similar framework.