Skip to content

What would you like to look for?

Site search
Search

1 March 2021

Update on Traceability - What's new in P7?

Traceability within the leather supply chain continues to be a crucial topic of discussion across the industry. Consumers want more transparency from the brands they purchase from, to ensure they can support and trust companies operating in a responsible manner.    

Since 2008, LWG has included a traceability element within the LWG Leather Manufacturer Audit Protocol, originally added to assess a supplier’s ability to trace their material back to a slaughterhouse. The group then launched the LWG Trader Audit Protocol in 2016 to provide increased visibility across leather supply chain.  

Most recently, version 7 of the LWG Leather Manufacturer Audit (P7) was launched in February 2021 and features two scored traceability sections.  

  1. Incoming traceability – focused on the origin of material prior to it entering a facility 

  1. Outgoing traceability – focused on maintaining traceability information through the facility 

The existing incoming material traceability section underwent significant development and expansion and is now a fully integrated, scored section. Developed in collaboration with the National Wildlife Federation, there are additional due diligence measures to tackle deforestation risk. We have also included additional levels of traceability to start assessing a broader scope for leather traceability. Outgoing Traceability has also been added as a new section to enable the continuity of traceability downstream. With the formation of the Traceability Working Group in late 2020, and continued collaboration with NGOs, we are planning to develop these requirements even further in future versions of the protocol. 

Traceability – Further Information 

To find out more on the new traceability requirements, be sure to sign-up for one of the up-coming webinars or visit our website for more details.  

As part of our schedule of webinars for 2021, we’ll be hosting several virtual sessions to give you more information about our new traceability requirements and what that means in practice. Register for one of the sessions below to find out more: 

  • Incoming Traceability 

  • Outgoing Traceability 

Category: News