Brazil: retail inspections seek to end abuse of the term ‘leather’
02/04/2015
Inspections in major towns and cities in the state of Paraná found that 35% of retailers were incorrectly labelling non-leather products including garments, shoes and bags as leather. A simple ruling under Brazilian law is that the term ‘leather’ can only be used to describe material that comes from an animal hide or skin and terms that misuse the word ‘leather’ (often by placing it next to the worth ‘synthetic’ or the term ‘eco’) are illegal there.
Inspections in March took place at more than 2,000 retail outlets in 16 cities in Paraná and found levels of abuse to be quite high. Similar exercises have already taken place in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso and Goiás.
CICB says it has no desire to take legal steps to punish retailers who pass off synthetic substitutes as leather, but to educate retailers and consumers and help them to recognise the difference.
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