The Deforestation-Free Call to Action for Leather

The Deforestation-Free Call to Action for Leather asks brands to commit to sourcing their bovine leather from deforestation/conversion-free supply chains by 2030 or earlier, in line with our Climate+ strategy. Co-led by Textile Exchange and the Leather Working Group (LWG), it sets meaningful expectations for brands and develops tools and guidance to support them on this journey.

PURPOSE

Cattle rearing is considered one of the most significant drivers of the deforestation and conversion of natural ecosystems.

It’s also a major driver of the conversion of natural ecosystems such as grasslands and savannahs. The private sector has an important role to play, both individually and collectively, to transform their supply chains by engaging with their suppliers to cascade down requirements that help to stop the deforestation and conversion of these natural ecosystems.

CHALLENGES

Leather brands and retailers are facing increasing pressure, but don’t know where to start.

Leather brands and retailers are facing increasing pressure from special interest groups, non-profit organizations, investors, media, and now from legislation, to ensure that the leather products and materials they are sourcing are deforestation and conversion-free. In parallel, brands are finding it challenging to engage with their suppliers and map their supply chains far enough to identify their raw material sources, let alone to take action.

GOAL

We’re aiming to drive collective action to stop deforestation in leather supply chains.

The goal of the Deforestation-Free Call to Action for Leather is to galvanize action towards ending the deforestation and conversion of natural ecosystems from leather supply chains, protecting wildlife habitat and biodiversity as well as preserving carbon stocks to mitigate climate change. Participating brands also commit to respecting human rights across the entire bovine leather supply chain, including recognizing and protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities. We understand that cattle farming practices cannot be transformed overnight, so working together in partnership with suppliers will be critical for driving change on the ground and for delivering the outcomes of the Deforestation-Free Call to Action for Leather.

IMPACTS

The impacts we want to have

Leverage the size and power of consumer-facing leather brands and align their action to catalyze change in leather value chains.
Ensure that the responsibility to invest in the protection of forests and ecosystems is shared more equitably across both ends of the supply chain, and between majority and minority world countries.
Provide better visibility in long and complex supply chains, in turn improving communication between brands and their supply chain partners and allowing deforestation/conversion-free practices to be rewarded.
Increase the availability of verified deforestation and conversion-free cattle farms.
Improve transparency through reporting on the collective progress being made by participating brands.

HOW IT WORKS

What is expected of participating brands?

Set leather sourcing requirements
Set and cascade requirements for deforestation/conversion-free sourcing to all levels of farming.
Set and meet supply chain targets
Set and meet targets for mapping supply chains to the slaughterhouse level and identify the associated risk levels.
Make investments
Set and meet investment targets and timelines to drive industry transformation, by creating conditions that increase the supply of deforestation/conversion-free cattle production and that enable traceability to cattle farms.
Implement traceability
Implement an identity preservation system to allow for credible sourcing of verified deforestation/conversion-free leather.
Report progress
Report progress along the Deforestation-Free Call to Action for Leather roadmap through Textile Exchange’s Materials Benchmark (and the LWG Sourcing Declaration, if applicable) on an annual basis.

LEARN MORE

Get in touch with our team to learn more and sign up.

Brands can get in touch with our team directly to learn more about the Deforestation-Free Call to Action for Leather and request the introductory toolkit. You can also download the Call-to-Action overview to learn more about the expected commitments.

Download the overview