11 January 2021

APLF has launched three virtual events for the tanning industry in China, India, Africa and the Middle East. The Virtual APLF events will take place in late January and early February, to bring together members from across the leather supply chain to showcase their products and services to specific markets. In particular, the digital platform will feature suppliers from the chemical, machinery, raw hide/ skins and footwear components sectors. In addition, companies offering testing services and accreditation will present at the events on operations within the tanning industry. Once registered for the virtual event, attendees will receive log in details for the online APLF...

11 January 2021

Renewals for the 2021-22 LWG membership year will begin towards the end of January. The Leather Working Group will begin the renewals process for the next membership year towards the end of this month. The next membership year will begin on 1st April 2021 and will run until 31st March 2022.   All current subscription members of the group (including brands, retailers, suppliers, associations, and agent traders) will receive an invoice in late January to ensure the renewals process is completed before the start of our next membership year.  We are pleased to confirm that our membership subscription fees will remain flat...

11 January 2021

Our annual member survey, a key tool in putting together our annual strategy, will open for responses in late January.  The 2021 LWG Membership Survey will be opened in late January for responses from our member companies. The Membership Survey is a crucial resource for our core team, allowing us to set up the strategy for the group over the next 12 months. The survey is also one of the key feedback mechanisms for our members to provide their input every year.   LWG operates on the principle of 1 company = 1 vote. As such, only the “Voting Contact” for each company will receive an invitation to complete the survey. If you believe you...

08 January 2021

Following the launch of the LWG Subcontractor Audit, the Leather Working Group will phase out the ‘Mini Audit’ in favour of mandatory subcontractor certification. By mid-2022, the Leather Working Group will require all subcontractors used by LWG-audited leather manufacturers to obtain their own certification via the LWG Subcontractor Audit. Launched late in 2020, the LWG Subcontractor Audit Protocol was designed to directly assess and certify companies completing subcontracting operations on behalf of third parties. Once assessed, a subcontractor’s environmental performance can be taken into account when their customers are audited via the LWG Environmental Audit...

07 January 2021

Guest Contributor: Stephen Sothmann (Leather and Hide Council of America) In recent months, there have been multiple articles in popular media outlets questioning leather’s status as a byproduct of meat or dairy production. Although his is still sometimes a misunderstood concept, when examining the evidence, it is quite clear that hides are indeed a byproduct of these food-producing systems.  To support this statement, this article uses the USA as a case study and provides independent, verifiable facts, sourced from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) about the economics of a hide in cattle and beef production. It will affirm the status of the hide (and thus,...

07 December 2020

Version 7 of the LWG Environmental Audit Protocol is anticipated for launch in Q1 of 2021, introducing new requirements for tanners. The Leather Working Group (LWG) is confident that the next iteration of its keystone auditing standard will be ready for launch in Q1 2021. Version 7.0 (P7) of the LWG Environmental Audit Protocol has been under development by the LWG Technical Sub-Group (TSG) for most of 2020, with input from ZDHC and NWF in specific areas. Some of the key changes to the protocol include: Chemical Management The previously separate LWG Chemical Management Module (CMM) will be integrated throughout the protocol, including additional questions on the monitoring and...

08 December 2020

Sign up to join the Leather Naturally webinar, where they will introduce the METCHA campaign On 16 December 2020, Leather Naturally will present a webinar to introduce the METCHA campaign. Leather Naturally is a not-for-profit industry members association, focused on promoting and educating designers, creators and consumers of leather as a material. In 2019, Leather Naturally launched METCHA, a digital platform and global marketing campaign aimed at Millennials and members of Gen Z. METCHA covers a wide range of news and developments related to leather in the fashion, art and lifestyle sectors. The platform highlights the value and importance of leather as a material, making use...

07 December 2020

The ZDHC will host a virtual conference for manufacturers based in East Asia this December. Attention all leather manufacturers based in East Asia! Register now for the ZDHC East Asia Regional Conference to learn more about the ZDHC Gateway, and many other topics, such as: Where is ZDHC today & what’s next? Will sustainability be relevant for the chemical, textile, fibre, PU and leather industry from 2020 onwards? Roadmap to Zero Programme update including but not limited to ZDHC MRSL, Chemical Management System (CMS), Supplier to Zero, Wastewater Guidelines. ZDHC Programme Implementation Challenges & Best Practices Improving your understanding of the...

07 December 2020

The Leather Working Group announced plans to include a requirement for a social audit into the LWG Environmental Audit Protocol during the October member meeting. LWG held a set of two webinars focused on social auditing and future plans to recognise existing social certifications over 25th and 26th November 2020. Delivered by Peter Hughes, the virtual sessions gave an overview of the need for social auditing across the supply chain, a review of the most widely used social standards in the leather industry, and an update on how LWG plans to incorporate them into future iterations of the LWG Environmental Audit Protocol. Introduction to Social Auditing Ensuring workers are...

07 December 2020

The Leather Working Group held the inaugural meeting of the Traceability Working Group on 25th November 2020, attended by LWG Members across the leather supply chain. As the Leather Working Group continues to grow and expand its scope, traceability becomes an ever more important issue for our membership. In fact, traceability was ranked as one of the top five priorities for future development in the 2020 LWG Member Survey. As such, this year has seen us commit to including new and stricter traceability requirements in our audit protocols as a means of encouraging leather manufacturers to improve their efforts in this area. In addition, we launched the LWG Traceability Working Group...

07 December 2020

The LWG office will be closed over 24th December 2020 to 1st January 2021. We would like to thank all of our members and external partners for their continued support for LWG over what has been a challenging year for most industries.  The main LWG office will be closed from Thursday 24th December and will reopen on Monday 4th January 2021. We are looking forward to continuing to work with all of our members and key stakeholders across the industry in 2021, and wish you all a relaxing festive season. Christmas & New Year Opening Hours Monday 21st December 2020   Open Tuesday 22nd December...

03 December 2020

Suppliers across the leather supply chain met virtually in early December to discuss key issues across the sector. The LWG Supplier Sub-Group (SSG) is comprised of supplier members of the group, featuring from chemical companies most prominently, but also including machinery suppliers, testing houses and other technical experts. The group aims to provide guidance to the LWG Technical Sub-Group and Executive Committee on supplier-related issues and has previously assisted in the development of the LWG Chemical Management Module (CMM). Over 40 individuals representing supplier members of LWG met virtually on Wednesday 2nd December 2020. Currently, the integration of the LWG Chemical...