06 September 2021

The Leather Working Group (LWG) originally joined the traceability project, organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), titled: “Enhancing Transparency and Traceability for Sustainable Value Chains in Garment and Footwear”, and has now extended their participation to take part in the Leather Pilot.  The project brings together multiple different organisations from across the footwear & garment sectors to create a platform for dialogue, develop useful tools, and provide policy recommendations related to traceability. The project’s planned outputs...

06 September 2021

Vote for your next Executive Committee representative in the LWG election!  The Leather Working Group has opened the voting period for two positions on the LWG Executive Committee, to represent brands and retailers, as well as certified leather manufacturers.  Current Executive Committee Members, Tong Hong Tannery and VF Corporation, are coming to the end of their first four-year term as of September 2021. After several weeks of nominations, the candidates include two brands and two leather manufacturers.  Brands and retailers can choose between VF Corporation and Wolverine Worldwide Inc. to represent their sector for the next...

03 September 2021

Several new member organisations joined the Leather Working Group between 1-31 August 2021. See our new members below: Brands/Retailers Dune Group Limited  Esprit Europe Services GmbH  Ferdinand Richter GmbH & Co KG  Jochie international BV  Nice Footwear Spa  Salvatore Ferragamo  Sofology Ltd  Stichwell Exports Pvt. Ltd   Suppliers  Verbo Boya Kimya Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi  In addition, more companies have become certified this past month. See below the leather...

02 September 2021

Sign up now for the UNECE-SDA BOCCONI Regional Workshop over 21-23 September 2021 to learn more about sustainability and circularity in the garment and footwear sectors A transition to circular economic models is key to improved sustainability in the garment and footwear sector - a shift that can be realised with verifiable production data, delivered through improved supply chain traceability and transparency. This three-day training workshop is the first in a series of events that aim to provide industry stakeholders with the tools they need to drive action on sustainability and advance progress towards circular economy approaches on a national, regional and global scale....

25 August 2021

Northampton, United Kingdom — 25 August 2021: Bentley Motors leads the way for the automotive sector by becoming the first car manufacturer to join the Leather Working Group.  As part of their ambition to become the world’s most sustainable automotive brand, British luxury car manufacturer Bentley has joined the Leather Working Group. As the first member from the automotive sector, Bentley leads the way for responsible leather use within the global automotive supply chain.  Bentley joins 190 other brands and retailers that have also become members of the Leather Working...

23 August 2021

23 August 2021  The latest version of the Leather Working Group’s flagship audit standard, the LWG Leather Manufacturer Audit Protocol 7, became mandatory on 22 August 2021. Representing a major evolution, P7 provides a more holistic assessment of a tannery’s performance, with more robust criteria across the board and newly added requirements for social responsibility, effluent treatment, material traceability, and chemical management.  First published in February 2021, Protocol 7 was refined during a period of public consultation and replaced by P7.1 on 6 July 2021. P7.1 replaced the existing Protocol 6.7 as...

19 August 2021

To give our brand and retailer members further guidance on sustainability claims and labelling, we hosted a webinar on the LWG Claims Framework on 18 August 2021.   Originally launched in 2020, our Claims Framework is a guidance document that provides brand and retailer members information on how to communicate to their customers about the Leather Working Group. The document contains information on how to make membership claims, a process for artwork approval, recommendations and requirements for product labelling, and suggestions for more transparent communication.   The...

02 August 2021

The Leather Working Group would like to announce the launch of the Environmental Impact Working Group (EIWG), a new subcommittee of our core governance group. The EIWG aims to be a platform for engagement and education on the environmental impact of leather, working towards both understanding the environmental impact of leather, as well as defining ways to achieve goals to reduce the impact across the leather value chain. This will assist companies to understand the impact of leather in their products, and also drive tangible improvements by setting and working towards meeting their science-based targets. The group will consider a range of different topics covering the environmental...

02 August 2021

Join the Leather Working Group’s virtual Member Meeting this October! Usually held in-person in Milan — to coincide with the Lineapelle Leather Fair — the LWG will host our fourth virtual Member Meeting on 12th & 13th October 2021 via Zoom. As international travel remains a challenge, we have decided to continue to host our events virtually. We will host two virtual sessions over two days, to allow members to attend at a more suitable time for their region. Our autumn member’s meeting will give members a chance to learn more about the group’s activity over the last six months and major changes on the horizon. Specifically, our October meeting will...

02 August 2021

Join the Leather Working Group team on Wednesday 18 August 2021 for an online briefing on the updated LWG Claims Framework. Originally launched in 2020, the Claims Framework was designed to give guidance to brand and retailer members of the LWG on how to communicate about their membership of LWG and how to communicate to their customers about the benefits of LWG certification. The webinar will also cover planned updates to the Claims Framework in the next 18-24 months, tying into LWG’s work on related topics, such as traceability and chain of custody in the leather supply chain. Suitable for all brand/retailer members of the LWG, the session will give new members an introduction...

02 August 2021

After a six-month introductory period, the newest version of the LWG Audit Standard for leather manufacturers (Protocol 7.1) becomes mandatory for all audits as of 22 August 2021, replacing the existing P6.7. Protocol 7 was originally published in February of this year, and we have allowed for the statutory six-month introductory period of member consultation and training. Member feedback was considered by the Technical Sub-group and refinements to the audit standard were made, resulting in the publication of P7.1.   The LWG Leather Manufacturer Audit Protocol 7.1 introduces several major changes to how we assess tanneries and aims to provide a more holistic assessment of their...

02 August 2021

LWG will be joining the 2021 Sustainable Leather Forum this autumn! Hosted by the Conseil National du Cuir, the Sustainable Leather Forum was launched to gather professionals to share knowledge and experiences of implementing a holistic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) approach to the global leather industry. Multiple stakeholders from across the leather industry will present on social, environmental, and economic topics related to leather manufacturing and purchasing, with speakers from organisations such as Leather Naturally, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the FILK Freiberg Institute, the French department store Galeries Lafayette, and many more. Christina...