World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and US leather industry to ‘make a substantial contribution to the sustainability’ of leather worldwide.
Representing the US leather industry, the Leather & Hide Council of America (L&HCA) and WWF have announced that they are to join forces to set out best practice and to help tackle challenges faced by the leather industry in developing markets including deforestation, water use, greenhouse gas emissions and workers’ rights
The two organisations have pledged to collaborate on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in a memorandum of understanding.
Mauricio Bauer of WWF in the United States believes that the US leather industry is unique in having the reach and influence to address challenges in the supply chain around the world “Due to their privileged position in the global marketplace, WWF believes that the U.S. leather sector is well positioned to significantly advance the decoupling of deforestation from global leather value chains.”
The partnership will look to build a library of openly available data and use best practice in science to promote change. He added “By constructing a robust body of work aimed at addressing these issues in an open, science-based, data-driven manner, US leather companies will be making a substantial contribution to the sustainability of the leather sector as a whole.”
WWF is one the world’s leading conservation organisations with more than 5 million members and is dedicated to preserving the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat the climate crisis.
L&HCA is a US trade association and global leader in support of the sustainable production of leather and funds this website. Stephen Sothmann, President of L&HCA added: “This is a historic moment for the leather industry. By partnering with WWF and embracing ESG practices as a central tenet of its business culture, the US leather industry is poised to take the lead in addressing the most critical challenges we face today and in the future.”
See worldwildlife.org to learn more.
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