A Sustainable
Leather Industry
People need energy to survive, and they need proper nutrition for energy. Among the many different food sources, animal foods are significantly richer in nutrients than plants. Among animal foods, especially red meat is highly nutritious and provides us with iron, zinc, and B vitamins that our bodies need1,2.
After the slaughter of animals fed for meat, a valuable and organic natural material is released, which is an important waste/by-product of the meat and meat products industry: Skin/hide.
The skin is the largest organ with versatile features and functions that surrounds
the bodies of all living things. If this natural material is thrown into the environment as waste, it can cause various health and environmental problems.
Leather processing industry which is a labour-intensive industry, converts this natural material which most people will not to want to touch, into a leather which is the valueadded
semi-products3. People do not hesitate to pay the higher price for using leather products compared to their counterparts.
The raw hides used in the manufacture of leather products are subjected to a series of sequential and complex chemical and mechanical processes in leather processing enterprises called tanneries; they are subjected to a process in which raw hide and leather are transformed into a flexible and soft, indestructible, and indestructible material that is resistant to the effects of microorganisms and mechanical deformation.
In addition, it gains hydrothermal stability, good breathability, durability and high strength4. This natural material is used in the manufacture of different leather goods in a wide range of products, depending on the characteristics of the animal it surrounds.
Whether tanned leather, parchment, vellum, oil- or fat-treated hides or rawhide, the widespread emergence of these animal skin products over time attests to the enduring utility and desirability of animal hides as a material.
Traditionally, all these products have been grouped as leather. In fact, the animal slaughtered for its meat continues to live through its skin.
The leather processing industry, which functions as a circular economy, is one of the oldest occupations in human history that emerged with hunting societies5,6. In the historical process, depending on the development of humanity, animal raw hides have turned into a material that can be used for many different purposes, ranging from clothes to shoes, from automobile / furniture upholstery to bags, wallets, belts, from sports equipment to technical leathers.
This production process; It consists of many processes that can be grouped as pretanning,
tanning, post-tanning and finishing processes. The main purpose of these processes is not to waste the value of a waste / by-product. It is to turn it into a product with added value. As a result, the size of the global leather products market has reached US$440.64 billion
today.
Today, the most important problem of the leather industry is sustainability. In a well-established industry such as leather with a complex global supply chain, it is very important to internalize sustainability and practices.
However, sustainability, defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”, should not be perceived as just environmentalism. Sustainability also has social equality and economic development legs.
Researches on the leather industry mostly evaluate sustainability in terms of the environment, because the industry draws attention especially with its environmental problems.
Environmental sustainability refers to the “planetary” aspect of sustainability, meaning that people need to live within the confines of the biophysical environment to continuously benefit from the ecosystem services provided by the environment, such as renewable, non-renewable, and waste absorbing capacity.
Therefore, the main target of the industry and the main title of the scientific studies carried out in this context is the production of “environmentally friendly” sustainable leather. Here, the following point should also be considered: Leather processing is one of the industries with a high potential to pollute the environment due to its high volume of solid, liquid, and gaseous emissions, and therefore the leather industry has focused on environmental sustainability7.
There is no doubt about it. However, by evaluating a material that can cause more serious environmental problems and problems affecting human health when released to the environment, the leather processing industry also has an effect that protects the environment and human health.
In addition, there are opportunities to transform all kinds of waste from leather production into a useful product with today’s knowledge and technology. The social sustainability of the leather industry is as important as environmental sustainability.
Social sustainability; It covers full compliance with product safety regulations, health and safety compliance, and adherence to animal welfare principles. Over the years, sustainability reporting in this context has gained importance in industrial contexts.
Previously, the need for sustainability actions and reporting was driven by the need to meet legal and regulatory compliances. Today, business stakeholders such as suppliers, customers and investors are the main drivers for communicating sustainability credentials8.
In addition, one of the resources that gives businesses additional gains in competition is to transparently disclose their sustainability credentials9. It has been determined that sustainability reporting provides various benefits to organizations. Such benefits contribute to enhancing the reputation of organizations and attract investors10.
Social sustainability practices include issues such as health and safety, employee development, diversity and equal opportunity in the workplace, obligations and protection of employee rights, participation of local communities, work-life balance, work safety, child labor problem, animal welfare11.
Findings and measurements on the leather industry mostly focus on environmental and economic sustainability issues, while the social sustainability pillar remains in the background and with limited criteria, that is, mostly at the level of “yes - no” criteria. Therefore, there will be no real progress and development in sustainability.
Strategies to be developed for sustainability should take into account all three pillars, because missing even one will hinder full sustainability development.
Literature
1. Geiker, N.R.W, ve diğerleri., 2021, Meat and Human Health - Current
Knowledge and Research Gaps, Foods, 10(7) https://doi.org/10.3390/
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2. Sharma, S., Sheehy, T. ve Kolonel, L.N.,2013, Contribution of meat
to vitamin B12, iron and zinc intakes in five ethnic groups in the USA:
Implications for developing food-based dietary guidelines. Journal
of Human Nutrition and Dietetics , 26(2), https://doi.org/10.1111/
jhn.12035.
3. Dixit, S., ve diğerleri.,Toxic Hazards of Leather Industry and Technologies
toCombat Threat: A Review, 2015 (January 2015), Journal of
Cleaner Production, Cilt 87:30-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.
2014.10.017
4. Keserwani, P., Jahan, S. ve Keserwani, K., 2015, A review on Leather
Processing. International Journal of Applied Research, Cilt 1, s. 977-
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5. Khan, I.N., History of Leather. Academia. [Çevrimiçi] 28 4 2023.
https://www.academia.edu/22929924/HISTORY_OF_LEATHER .
6. Kurian, J. ve Nithya, N., 2009, Material Flows in the Life Cycle of
Leather, Journal of Cleaner Production, 17(7):676-682. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2008.11.018
7. Daniels, R. ve Landmann, W., 2013 The Framework for Leather
Manufacture,World Trades Pub.,
8. Falcao, L. ve Araujo, M.E.M., 2018, Vegetable Tannins used in
Manufacture of Historic Leathers, Molecules, 23(5):1081. https://doi.
org/10.3390/molecules23051081.
9. Thijssens, T., Bollen, L. ve Hassink, H., 2016, Managing Sustainability
Reporting: Many Ways to Publish Exemplary Reports. Journal of
Cleaner Production, 86-101.
https://doi.org/86–101. doi:10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2016.01.098.
10. Siew, R.Y.J., 2015, Review of Corporate Sustainability Reporting
Tools (SRTs). 2015, Journal of Environmental Managemen,164:180-195.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.09.010.
11. Omoloso, O., ve diğerleri., 2020, Corporate Sustainability Disclosure:
A Leather Industry Perspective. Emerging Science Journal. 4:(1):44-51.
https://doi.org/ 10.28991/esj-2020-01209
12. Śmiechowski, K. ve Lament, M., Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) Reporting on pro-EcologicalActions of Tanneries,
Journal of Cleaner Production,161:991-999. September 2017, https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.05.104
Asst. Prof. Fazlı Akyüz
Department of Textiles-Clothing, Footwear and Leather
Leather Technology Program
İstanbul University Vocational School of Technical Sciences
