Australian Hide, Skin & Leather Exporters Association (AHSLEA), Media Release, 20 October 2023
The Australian Hide Skin and Leather Exporters Association (AHSLEA) along with 27 other international leather industry organisations, is calling 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.
Building upon earlier communications to the COP meeting, the “Leather Manifesto” highlights to the delegates the capacity of leather and other natural materials to optimise resource utilisation while safeguarding the environment from depletion and harm.
AHSLEA Executive Officer Dennis King said over the last four decades Australian leather processors have implemented a range of exciting sustainable initiatives to reduce leather’s carbon footprint including adopting cleaner tanning technologies and practices.
“An example is the significant lowering of the total dissolved solids discharged in the effluent through green processing and processing hides near the source, so they don’t need to be preserved for long. The result – an Australian tannery processing 20,000 tonnes of hides a year now saves more than 7,000 tonnes of salt compared to four decades ago.”
Australian leather processors are world leaders in drum technology, energy consumption, water usage, air and noise emissions, waste treatment, effluent treatment, and elimination of restricted substances on the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Manufacturing Restricted Substances List.
Leather stands as an optimal choice for a sustainable future, promoting reuse and the principles of slow fashion. The leather industry reiterates its call for the implementation of suitable measures to assess environmental impact, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which thoroughly evaluates all aspects of material production. This approach aims to encourage the development of durable products that can be used repeatedly, repaired, and refurbished.
What is COP23?
For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits – called COPs – which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. In that time climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority. COP 28 will take place in Dubai from 30 November until 12 December 2023, with the United Arab Emirates as President and feature discussions between world leaders negotiators, government representatives, businesses and citizens.
About AHSLEA
The Australian Hide Skin & Leather Exporters Association (AHSLEA) is the national membership body representing the interests of the major exporters of Australian cattle and calf hides, sheep and lamb skins, kangaroo skins and goat skins. It is also a member of the International Council of Hides, Skins and Leather Traders Association (ICHSLTA), which promotes, develops and protects the international trade in raw hides, skins and leathers.
