LHCA’s efforts to dispel myths will continue
Industry body the Leather and Hide Council of America (LHCA) has said it expects a busy year ahead as it continues to advocate on behalf of the US hide, skin, and leather industry, domestically and globally.
In a report that offers a review of US hide exports in 2020, LHCA said a tough few years for the leather industry had been strained further by covid-19. It said that in spring 2020, the value of a US steer hide was less than 1% of the entire value of the animal and suggested this was probably the lowest percentage on record.
It said that there had been marginal improvements in hide prices in the latter half of 2020, but insisted that, in 2021, the industry was once again likely to face “slumping global demand, weak prices, and disinformation campaigns that seek to intentionally mischaracterise leather’s environmental impact”.
Plastic synthetics and plant-based alternatives that imitate leather, but are not leather, have taken significant market share away from the material in consumer product areas such as footwear and automobile upholstery, LHCA said. It added: “The situation is so dire that lower-quality hides and skins are being composted and destroyed rather than processed into leather.”
It pointed out that this trend of hides going to waste was one LHCA first reported in 2019 but it said the problem had continued as market incentives to process and distribute certain hides have diminished.
Industry efforts are already under way to combat what it called “the proliferation of falsehoods about leather”. Its ‘Real Leather, Stay Different’ campaign, for example, celebrates the versatility, beauty, sustainability, and durability of US leather, and simultaneously encourages the use and purchase of real leather over synthetics by engaging brands, retailers, and consumers. This campaign launched an international student design competition in 2020 attracting strong interest among young designers around the world.
These initiatives complement what it called “a robust social media presence” and increasing collaboration among people in the global leather industry to take a more proactive role in shaping leather’s story.
“In 2021, the US industry will remain committed, in partnership with other leather industry associations, to defending leather’s sustainability in international fora,” LHCA said. “Myths concerning leather’s environmental impact have erroneously caused some designers, manufacturers, and retailers to source synthetic and other materials that often speciously boast a lower carbon footprint, when in fact, this ‘greenwashing’ only hastens environmental degradation. Dispelling these inaccuracies is an essential prerequisite to rebuilding global demand for leather in the years ahead.”
