Leather Working Group, along with 27 other international leather industry organizations, again called on the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) to recognise the positive impact of natural materials such as leather on people, lives, and livelihoods, and as a means of directly mitigating climate impact. Expanding on previous messages sent to COP meeting, The “Leather Manifesto,” highlights to the COP28 delegates the capacity for leather and other natural materials to make the best use of the resources available, and to do so without diminishing them or causing harm to the environment.
人、生命和生计——皮革的作用
值此第 28 届缔约方会议召开之际，下列签署人再次呼吁加深对天然材料（特别是皮革）的理解和整合，以应对人为气候变化的挑战。我们欢迎法国和荷兰的新政策和法规以及欧盟和英国的拟议立法，以及人们日益认识到必须采取行动减少时尚和纺织品的影响。为了实现这一目标，时装和纺织品设计中的可修复性、可恢复性和可循环性将得到更加重视和法律要求。
这些都是皮革等天然纤维的优势所在。皮革、羊毛、丝绸等制成的产品被消费者长期保留并传给后来的所有者，这是很正常的。由这些材料制成的产品寿命长、易于修复，并且在使用寿命结束时可以重新利用或易于堆肥。Wiedemann 等人的最新研究。1发现，“如果穿着次数增加 50%，所有天然纤维对气候变化的影响都是负面的：也就是说，将完全避免温室气体排放，主要是因为与制造新的石油 PET 服装相关的排放被避免了”。由耐用的天然材料制成的服装可以在减少时尚和纺织品对气候的影响方面发挥不可否认的积极作用。
皮革提供了充分利用现有资源的机会，并且不会减少资源或对环境造成损害。目前有大量天然、易得的多功能生皮未被使用，它们可以转化为可持续皮革，取代化石燃料衍生的合成替代品，但会带来额外的排放和影响。在此过程中，将有机会为超过25亿双脚穿上鞋子。我们可以为世界上 33% 的人口提供鞋子。
我们还欢迎在 COP28 主题中关注人、生命和生计。皮革制造可以直接或在相关行业为贫困地区创造就业、创富和安全的机会。还有越来越多的证据表明，当考虑到整个生命周期时，这些材料可以对气候和环境做出积极贡献。因此，必须使用适当的指标来评估这些材料的影响，而不仅仅是评估其生产的狭义归因影响以及其使用的后果。
皮革等天然材料为时尚和其他应用提供了一种可行的替代品，可以替代化石燃料衍生的合成材料。这是一种满足时尚和纺织行业新兴循环政策要求的替代方案。更多地使用天然材料将创造就业机会，减少浪费，并可能成为更可持续农业实践的直接驱动力。然而，这需要根据当前的科学和可靠数据更好地了解皮革等材料的影响。
“Leather manufacturers can create opportunities for employment, wealth generation and security in deprived regions, both directly and in associated industries.” the Leather Manifesto states. “Greater use of natural materials would create jobs, reduce waste and could be a direct driver of more sustainable agricultural practice.”
The Manifesto further notes that leather is an ideal choice for a sustainable future, encouraging re-use and slow-fashion. The leather industry once again calls for appropriate measures of environmental impact such as LCA, taking full account of all aspects of the production of any material and the promotion of durable products, and items that can be used many times, repaired and refurbished.
Read the full manifesto below or download a copy including all signatories here.
A Manifesto Leather on the occasion of COP28
People, lives and livelihoods – the role of leather
On the occasion of the 28th edition of COP, the undersigned once again call for greater understanding and integration of natural materials, and in particular leather, in addressing the challenges of man-made climate change. We welcome the new policy and regulations in France and the Netherlands and proposed legislation in the European Union and United Kingdom, and the growing recognition that the action must be taken to reduce the impact of fashion and textiles. To achieve this goal, there will be ever greater emphasis and legal requirements for repairability, recovery and circularity in design in fashion and textiles.
These are all areas where natural fibres such as leather, excel. It is quite normal for products made from leather, wool, silk, etc. to be kept by consumers for long periods of time and passed on to subsequent owners. Products made from these materials are long-lived, eminently repairable and can be repurposed or readily composted at end of life. Recent research by Wiedemann et al.1found that, ‘the climate change impacts of all natural fibres were negative if the number of wears was increased by 50%: that is, greenhouse gas emissions would be avoided entirely primarily because emissions associated with the manufacture of a new petro-PET garment were averted’. Garments made from long-lived, natural materials can have an undeniably positive action in reducing the climate impact of fashion and textiles.
Leather offers an opportunity to make the best use of the resources available and to do so without diminishing them or causing harm to the environment. There are currently huge volumes of a natural, readily available versatile hides and skins going unused which could be transformed into sustainable leather, replacing fossil fuel-derived synthetic alternatives, with the additional emissions and impacts those entail. In the process, there would be the opportunity to put shoes on over 2.5 billion pairs of feet. That’s 33% of the world’s population that we could provide shoes for.
We also welcome, within the COP28 themes, a focus on people, lives, and livelihoods. Leather manufacture can create opportunities for employment, wealth generation and security in deprived regions, both directly and in associated industries. There is also a growing body of evidence showing that when the full life cycle is considered, these materials can be positive contributors to the climate and environment It is essential then that appropriate metrics are used to assess the impact of these materials, assessing not just the narrow, attributional impact of their production but also the consequences of their use.
