ICT takes Apple to task
Technology company Apple has received a formal response from the International Council of Tanners (ICT) following its announcement on September 12 that it would no longer use leather in products such as cases for iPhones or straps for watches.
It said: “As part of the company’s broader environmental efforts, Apple has ended the use of leather across all of its product lines. The company will replace leather with a new textile called FineWoven.”
In its response, ICT said it was deeply disappointed by the company’s decision and pointed out that Apple had provided no evidence that FineWoven was a better environmental option.
Because the technology company has provided no clarity on what the new material is made of, ICT said it was difficult to assess the validity of the September 12 claims. “Evidence suggests that they are, at best, misguided,” ICT said.
It argued that, if a large part of the environmental footprint of leather is associated with the rearing of livestock from which hides and skins are sourced, Apple was doing nothing to lessen this because livestock are reared for meat and dairy and the hides and skins are unarguably by-products of those industries.
It quoted research from the University of Montana that shows that the production of leather does not influence the number of animals reared and slaughtered and pointed out that nearly half of the hides and skins produced annually across the world are thrown away.
“This matters,” ICT said “as replacing leather with other materials will do nothing to change the number of animals reared by the food industry or reduce their climate impact. Apple is clearly free to use any material that it chooses, but it should not unfairly discredit other materials in the interest of marketing. As such, we ask that you retract all claims regarding the sustainability of leather in regard to its replacement in your products.”
