Every February and September, Lineapelle in Italy's Milan brings together tanneries, producers of accessories, fabrics and synthetic materials — all key players in the global supply chain for fashion, luxury and design — with a special emphasis on the leather industry. Courtesy of Lineapelle By Park Han-sol MILAN, Italy — At first glance, leather and sustainability may seem like an unlikely pairing. But, in recent decades, the leather industry has been striving to redefine the material within an environmental context, adopting strategies to further minimize its ecological footprint.
At its core, leather is a byproduct of the meat industry. Tanneries repurpose raw cattle and sheep hides — byproducts of food production that would otherwise end up in landfills — into fibers used for handbags, shoes, upholstery and automotive interiors. Even the waste and scraps from leather manufacturing find new life afterward in agriculture as fertilizers and in cosmetics as collagen.
In Italy, which produces a quarter of the world’s leather by value, sustainability in tanneries hinges on full supply chain traceability. The Institute of Quality Certification for the Leather Sector (ICEC) certification requires that tanneries track everything from the country of origin of the hides to the specific farms and slaughterhouses involved, ensuring ethical and transparent management of raw materials. Meanwhile, some suppliers are even moving beyond traditional animal hides altogether, expl.