One 4 Leather, along with 30 signatories from international leather industry organisations, called on the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) to recognise the importance of natural materials, particularly leather, in addressing the challenges of man-made climate change.
The leather industry is seeking to recognise the cyclical, climate-efficient nature of natural fibres and their potential to positively contribute to reducing climate impacts. It notes that leather is an ideal choice for a sustainable future, encouraging re-use and slow fashion.
With the increased use of plastics replacing genuine leather in automotive interiors, One 4 Leather wants to challenge assumptions by providing facts on the benefits of automotive leather. One 4 Leather is the only signatory from the automotive industry.
A spokesperson for One 4 Leather commented, “One 4 Leather’s mission is to promote the use of leather in automotive interiors by sharing accurate information and dispelling myths about leather and “sustainable” alternatives. Being a signatory on the new “Leather Manifesto” is an integral part of this work.
“Leather is a by-product of the meat and dairy industry, as confirmed by the World Wildlife Federation (WWF); no cattle are bred for hides. In fact, with global beef consumption rising, the leather industry is pivotal, upcycling hides that would otherwise become landfill where they would emit hundreds of tones of methane each year.”
The manifesto states, “Leather offers an opportunity to make the best use of the resources available and to do so without diminishing them or causing harm to the environment. There are currently huge volumes of readily available hides and skins going unused which could be transformed into sustainable leather, replacing fossil fuel-derived synthetic alternatives, with the additional emissions and impacts those entail.”
The COP28 conference takes place in Dubai from November 30 to December 12.
To read the full Leather Manifesto, please click here.