COTANCE objects as apparel labelling change denigrates leather
24/06/2011
In May, the Europe Parliament gave approval for new regulations on textile labelling, which, COTANCE says, “opens the way to compulsory labelling for leather trims on clothing to be sold in the EU that penalises leather with a denigrating descriptor”.
The presence of leather as a trim in clothing will mean the label has to say: ‘Contains non-textile parts of animal origin’.
“Such a mention denies leather the right to be called by its name,” the COTANCE statement continued. “Describing leather by other than its name is likely to cause confusion to the detriment of the sector’s cultural and industrial heritage. It is highly concerning that the affected sectors have not been consulted at all by public authorities and that the economic and social consequences on supply chains have not been assessed.”
COTANCE expressed its objections in a letter to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the EU Council Presidency as long ago as March 2010, but said in the new statement that its views have been “simply ignored and its concerns unanswered”.
It said in conclusion: “The European Leather industry calls on the EU institutions to reconsider the implementation of this and to develop regulation of leather terms and the labelling of leather articles that the leather sector and European consumers deserve.”
Share this story:
