International organisations make progress on joint working
26/01/2012
The three international associations linked to the global leather industry reached agreement in November in advance of the World Leather Congress in Rio de Janeiro to collaborate on the promotion of leather. The three organisations ratified a memorandum of understanding sealing this collaboration.
This memorandum of understanding emphasises the value of leather industry to the global economy through its ability to create a noble material from a by-product, its excellent performance attributes and its ability to create wealth and employment. It also makes clear that the industry has a need to communicate clearly to consumers about the sustainability of leather production, and to enhance the quality of finished leather to distinguish it more and more from synthetic substitutes. It notes that the nature and structure of the leather industry “necessitates the support of a structured mechanism that facilitates the continuous improvement of its operators in terms of environmental performance, social accountability and economic profitability”.
The three organisations have taken this process forward during a meeting at the Istanbul Leather Fair in Turkey in mid-January, after which they made a general call for all in the leather value chain to work together to enhance the value of leather as a component material in the marketplace.
Participants in the Istanbul meeting laid out guidelines on how the three independent organisations plan to work together. They outlined several projects of importance to the industry. These include a project on the identity of leather, with the first phase to collect and share national, regional, and international rules and regulations on definitions, labelling and marking of leather, as well as hides, skins and leather product certifications.
Discussions also took place on the image of the industry and issues relating to sustainable processing. Further work will follow defining some of these initiatives and will be developed “on the basis of own resources”. Participants did not exclude that “certain activities could require the need of external resources” in the future, but participants were happy with the progress being made.
The next meeting of this newly formed global leather coordinating committee will be held on March 30, immediately following the APLF leather fair in Hong Kong.
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