Not-for-profit industry promotional campaign Leather Naturally (LN) has released its 2023 Annual Report, providing insights into its activities. Report by ILM.

A headline figure is the drop in membership from 172 to 166 members in 2023, with 120 paying members out of the total, which determines the budget for the year.

Last year, the organisation completed its work on a life cycle assessment (LCA) with Spin 360 and made the decision to submit it collectively with the Leather Working Group to Worldly (formerly Higg), which is expected to happen in Q3 of 2024.

In 2023, LN reported a total income of US$193,729, entirely made up of membership fees from 137 members, with expenses totalling US$263,648 and a total net result of US$68,616 after currency translation differences of US$1,303.

The 2024 budget expects an income of US$218,166 with expenses totalling US$227,604, with a total net result of US$9,438. As part of these costs, LN has objectives include: maintaining the website content, including fact sheets; investing in its paid search campaign; collaborating in COP29, World Leather Day and other initiatives; supporting in-person events and webinars; delivering educational materials including V2 of the Modern Leather Making Guide; submit its LCA result to Worldly; and more.

The management board of LN is comprised of Chair Debbie Burton, Secretary/Treasurer Natasja Brouns, Team Leader Communication Claudia Spahr, Team Leader Impact Kim Sena, Impact Team Aukje Berden, Team Leather Promotion Federico Roth and Team Leader Education Dr Luis Zugno. Brouns, Zugno and Roth elected to remain on the board for a second term in 2023. They are supervised by the Supervisory Council, made up of Chair James Lang, Secretary Dietrich Tegtmeyer, David Peters, Carl Flach and Chad Jensen.

LN members can download a full version of the report from its website.