Following the approval of the Italian “leather” decree, COTANCE (Confederation of National Associations of Tanners and Dressers of the European Community) has called upon the European Commission to take similar action on a European level. The pan-European leather organization considers protection of the term ‘leather’ as one of their top priorities at the moment, reports One 4 Leather. 

The rampant use of the term leather, the use as prefix or suffix, has become a widespread issue for leather-using industries and leather producers. In turn, the misleading use in labeling has led to significant forms of consumer confusion. Buying fake leather products, after all, leads to negative experiences with materials that claim to be leather, soiling the good name of the material. European legislation on this front could certainly help set a clear precedent.

“I only regret that the European Union does not grant to leather this protection across all member States, while it does it for the textile sector and milk products,” says COTANCE President, Andreas Kindermann. Some countries do have separate leather authenticity standards, like Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Lithuania and Spain, but for the international trade, this does not suffice. Particularly now, after the COVID-19 lockdown and Italy’s leading example, it’s time for this regulatory development.