CarLet’s talk about the environmental impact of U.S. cowhide production and what it means for the leather industry. Report by Leather UK.

Preliminary data shared by the Leather & Hide Council of America challenges previous estimates, revealing that leather’s environmental footprint is significantly lower than previously reported by the (extremely flawed!) Higg Index.

An independent Life Cycle Assessment funded by Choose real leather has shown leather to be a renewable and sustainable material, with greenhouse gas emissions from cattle hides much lower than previously thought. In fact, the study revealed that The Higg Index overestimated hides’ climate impact (GWP) by 18 times and other impact factors by as much as 8000 times!!

Kevin Latner, Vice President, Sustainability, Leather & Hide Council of America commented:

“We were pleased to see that processing of hides, a natural waste material, delivers a low carbon footprint. The new data shows that leather can be a renewable, sustainable material and suggests that it is better for the environment than oil-derived synthetics.