Benefits for all in Leather Working Group audits
03/02/2011
Speaking about the LWG—the multi-stakeholder group that assesses the environmental performance of tanneries and awards gold, silver and bronze status to those achieving the best results—at a seminar during the India International Leather Fair, Stuart Booth (a project manager at one of the organisations equipped to carry out LWG audits, BLC Leather Technology Centre) said 180 audits have been completed at tanneries around the world so far. These have involved 120 different companies. Eleven of the tanneries have achieved gold status, 32 silver and 18 bronze.
Mr Booth insisted that the LWG audit process is not just for large tanneries making leather for huge global footwear brands. The process is detailed and there is a cost to the tanneries, but the BLC auditor said: “Small and medium-sized tanneries should go for it. The improvements internally, which can include large savings in energy and water use in the tannery, will pay the costs.”
He said that “a second big carrot” is that if smaller tanneries do well, there is nothing to stop them from promoting themselves to big brands around the world. “We did this in Mexico,” he added, “because there were tanners there who wanted to attract the attention of the brands. They haven’t all succeeded in doing so yet, but some of them have.”
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