05 October 2020

The Leather Working Group (LWG) recognises the importance of transparency and traceability within the supply chain.  It is only through transparency of supply that consumers, brands, and their supply chain can ensure that the materials used in products can be sustainably selected and sourced.   Full transparency and traceability of all types of raw materials is a fundamental building block to ensure that inappropriate exploitation of people, places, and damage to the environment (such as deforestation and pollution) do not take place. For new members to LWG and as a reminder to our long-term members, it is important to understand a brief history of the group’s...

05 October 2020

Both Europe and the UK are currently looking into introducing new legislation that will aim to address the issue of illegal deforestation. These new rules will require a higher level of transparency and traceability in the supply chain, for products and their constituent materials, traded within these regions. The details of the specific requirements are yet to be decided.   For more information, please refer to the resources below.  News from the European Parliament:   Putting an end to EU-driven global deforestation  Binding legislation needed to stop EU-driven global...

05 October 2020

LWG hosted a virtual meeting for all members of the Animal Welfare Group (AWG) in lieu of the usual face-to-face meeting that would have taken place in Milan, alongside Lineapelle. The webinar was open to all AWG Members as well as existing LWG Members interested in joining the AWG.   Delivered on Tuesday 29th September 2020, The AWG Members were joined by the group’s Co-Chairs, Sarah Nichols (Bellroy) and Erika Benz (Adidas), as well as members from the LWG Facilitation Team. The virtual meeting gave attendees an update on the strategic direction of the LWG Animal Welfare Group.  In particular, the...

05 October 2020

The more recent iteration of the LWG Webinar Series featured a two-session overview of environmental management systems (EMS) in leather manufacturing facilities, delivered by Mark Lucas, an LWG Auditor and Member of the LWG Technical Subgroup (TSG).  The sessions covered how companies can create appropriate environmental policies by looking at the nature, scale and impacts of their activities, products and services. Building on this, the webinars gave an overview on how leather manufacturers can assess the impacts of their operations in areas such as energy and water consumption, discharges from the plant,...

05 October 2020

In an effort to make it easier for companies to understand their eligibility for an LWG Audit, we have developed a new online registration form for:  Leather Manufacturers  Traders (of part-processed or finished material)  Commissioning Manufacturers  Subcontractors  Any other company interested in obtaining LWG certification.     You can access the form here.  The form asks some basic, high-level questions about company operations on areas such as material ownership and types of production. Completing the form is not mandatory, but it will help our Administration Team and the...

07 September 2020

LWG is pleased to announce that we will host a virtual Member’s Meeting in October 2020, in lieu of our regular face-to-face event in Milan.   Following on from the success of our Member's Webinar in May, we hope to continue to offer our members a valuable update on the group through online channels, minimising the potential risks associated with travel at this time.   The autumn 2020 LWG Member’s Webinar is scheduled for Tuesday 20th October 2020 and will run for two hours (12-2pm BST/UK time).   We will cover a range of topics about LWG, our audit protocols, areas of technical development and other...

07 September 2020

We are pleased to announce we will host an online member meeting of the LWG Animal Welfare Group (AWG) in late September, in lieu of our regular meeting that would have taken place in Milan, alongside the main LWG Member’s Meeting.   The meeting will be hosted by LWG at 10am BST (UK time) on Tuesday 29th September 2020 via the Zoom webinar platform and delivered by the AWG Facilitators and Co-Chairs of the group.  In terms of content, we plan to give members an overview of the AWG animal welfare guide; an update on current animal welfare activities; discuss the concept of leather...

07 September 2020

Next up in LWG Webinar Series is an online training on the topic of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) within the context of leather manufacturing and related facilities. The webinar will touch on general best practice for EMS within tanneries, existing standards/certifications, as well as the requirements within the LWG Environmental Audit Protocol.  To date, the LWG Webinar Series has offered training on the following topics:  Audit Administration & Documentation   Risk Assessment & Emergency Planning  CrVI Formation, Prevention &...

07 September 2020

Last month, LWG published a technical article written by our guest contributor, Georgina Mawer, giving an overview of the key factors in the formation and prevention of CrVI in leather manufacturing.  Following on from this, we hosted the latest instalment of the LWG Webinar Series on the same topic, delivered by Georgina in two sessions over 26th & 27th August. The virtual event covered how CrVI can be formed in the production and usage of leather, with guidelines on how companies can monitor and prevent is formation going forward. We also covered important legislation on CrVI in an international...

07 September 2020

The Leather Working Group will soon launch the Traceability Working Group, a subcommittee of our core governance groups, to focus on developing our understanding of traceability within the leather industry.   The group will work on refining our definitions of traceability and how leather can be considered traceable throughout the leather supply chain. Furthermore, we will take into account the influence of different stakeholders in the leather industry and regional differences in traceability systems.   Ultimately, the new group will focus on how to facilitate a higher level of traceability and investigate the practicalities of...

07 September 2020

Amazon is committed to making it easier for customers to choose high-quality, more sustainable apparel products. Therefore, Amazon joined the Leather Working Group (LWG) for the 2020/21 membership year in April 2020. After becoming a member, Amazon has made a commitment to source the leather for their private brand apparel and shoe product lines from LWG-certified leather manufacturers by 2023. Read more about Amazon’s commitment to sustainability within the apparel industry here.

03 August 2020

The next installment of the LWG Webinar Series will address Chromium VI (CrVI), focusing on monitoring and prevention within the context of leather manufacturing facilities. Notably, our webinar will include information the requirements of the LWG Environmental Audit Protocol, as well as considerations for future iterations of the audit.   To date, the LWG Webinar Series offers training on the following topics:  Audit Administration & Documentation   Risk Assessment & Emergency Planning  Monitoring & Prevention of CrVI  LWG will host the training webinar on CrVI and it...