The Responsible Leather Platform

Leather is crucial to fashion, furniture and transportation, but unless it’s responsibly sourced it can pose significant risks to human health, animal welfare, and ecosystems. Ensuring leather is responsibly sourced means keeping tabs on an ever-changing global supply chain, ensuring best practices, and monitoring for external risks. But with hundreds of supply sites in a typical leather supply chain, it can't be done by juggling spreadsheets and emailing suppliers. Modern supply chain mapping technology makes it possible to keep tabs on incredibly complex supply chains without additional effort, or costly audits and certifications. And it’s quick: most supply chains can be mapped in under one month. The only risk to most businesses is delaying the start of supply chain mapping until something critical happens.

Modern supply chain mapping technology makes it possible to keep tabs on incredibly complex supply chains without additional effort, or costly audits and certifications. And it's quick: most supply chains can be mapped in under one month. The only risk to most businesses is delaying the start of supply chain mapping until something critical happens.

The Responsible Leather Platform augments traditional approaches (self-assessments, audits and certifications) with supply chain mapping: accounting for every step in raw material production, from farms to slaughterhouses and finally wet-blue and finishing tanneries. Doing so makes it possible not only to manage industrial standards but also to ensure that animals are humanely treated and that forests and ecosystems remain protected. The Responsible Leather Platform uses some innovative data collection tools to quickly and accurately map to the origins, and the latest in deforestation monitoring to keep tabs on the risk posed by cattle grazing in certain regions. What follows is a step-by-step guide to modernizing your leather supply chain through continuous mapping and risk assurance.

Supply Chain Mapping: Efficiently maintain an up-to-date supply chain map of tanneries, slaughterhouses and farms

Standards and Certifications: Ensure suppliers are compliant with Leather Working Group and other industry best practices

Zero-Deforestation Commitments: Monitor cattle producing regions for deforestation risk, especially locations change

Animal Welfare: Ensure best practices at the farm and slaughterhouse level