One of the most toxic industries of all, the leather industry is responsible for some serious environmental problems at very many production sites around the world. In most cases, however, simply avoiding leather products is not the answer. Other raw materials, such as cotton or rubber,are also often farmed under problematic conditions. Nonetheless, monitoring and selectingmaterials – also for packaging – on the basis of their carbon footprint is a welcome move. The same goes for specific production procedures, such as tanning.
With respect to human rights and compliance with social standards along the value chain, the leather and shoe industry constitutes a high-risk sector.
Besides leather footwear, municipalities often buy leather gloves, for example. Moreover, sustainable procurement should also take account of leather’s significance in furniture-making or the automotive sector.
For general information on integrating sustainability into the procurement process, see here.
An online tool to assess the local human rights situation by "Helpdesk Business & Human Rights" is available here.
Municipal best practice examples of sustainable procurements of leather products, see here (German only).
Further information on leather (in German):
Click on the individual stages in the information graphic on the left to learn more about the ecological and social challenges when procuring leather products.
The leather industry often uses 'waste' from the meat industry. Consequently, standards to protect animal welfare and regulate slaughter can be considered (cf. information on the procurement of food products).
Thanks to its specific properties, leather made from animal hides from Amazonia, for example, isconsidered particularly suitable for protective footwear and therefore commonly used in this sector. The following problems are known to affect this region of origin (see also information on the procurement of paper products):
Environmental challenges
Social challenges
It takes several stages of processing to turn raw hides into leather (i.e. lime production in wet areas; tanning to make wet blue or wet white intermediate products; retanning, dyeing, greasing). As a rule, this involves a lot of water and numerous highly toxic chemicals (chrome, as well as sulphuric acid or ammonia). In various countries (e.g. China, India, Pakistan or Bangladesh), tannery work commonly goes hand in hand with the following environmental and social ills.
Environmental challenges
Social challenges
Leather shoes are manufactured in China, India, Indonesia, Turkey and Viet Nam. Multiple social challenges arise – or are the norm – during shoe production (a process that involves cutting, stitching, upper manufacture and sometimes also sole bonding).
Social challenges
The public sector procures leather products for diverse target groups employed across various sectors, including waste management and green space maintenance, road construction, the German public order office (Ordnungsamt) or the fire service. Most of these target groups have to be fitted out with protective footgear that meets very specific requirements.
With leather products especially, adequate steps should be taken to protect users by ensuringcompliance with the European REACH regulation on chemical residues. Sourcing long-lasting and high-quality products can reduce resource consumption and safeguard the wearer's health, especially in the case of shoes.
Given the strict standards that apply to safety, protective and occupational footwear, options for repair remain limited.
For some readily accessible information on the REACH regulation, see the German Environment Agency’s website (UBA).
Worn shoes should only be donated for reuse if it is certain this will not have any undesirable effectson development. For example, selling second-hand shoes for a pittance to the local population in a developing country can undermine local shoe production, as is the case in Kenya, for example (see here, in German).
Environmental challenges
Social challenges
Shoes and their individual components mostly travel far before they are sold in Germany. Leather is transported from Brazil to India or China to be processed into semi-finished shoes. From there, these are then shipped to Finland or Italy, for example, for the final stages of processing before ultimately reaching the stores in Germany. This is what a typical safety footwear supply chain might look like. Shoe uppers (shafts) are almost never made in Germany.
Furthermore, shoes are individually packaged for transport to the end consumer. Thus, additional resources are needed to manufacture packaging and transport the finished goods.
The value chain uses a lot of resources for transport, causing high CO2 emissions. The Euro 6 emission standard (Commission Regulation EU/582/2011) applies to transport with heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks, and procurement officers should demand compliance.