Leather Cluster Barcelona, together with 29 other leather organisations from around the world, signs and supports the Leather Manifesto, a document presented on the occasion of the United Nations Climate Change Conference to highlight the positive contribution of natural materials such as leather in limiting the climate impact of consumer materials.

This conference has been held every year since 1995 and brings together representatives of the countries that have signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international environmental treaty addressing climate change.

The United Nations (UN) is organising this 28th edition of 2023 of the Conference of the Parties – better known as COP – on climate change in the United Arab Emirates between 30 November and 12 December. Dubai will thus become the world's epicentre of dialogue on climate change.

In the new manifesto, leading players in the global leather sector, among them Leather Cluster Barcelona, champion leather as an ideal option for a sustainable future, since it promotes the recovery of a waste product from the food industry, reduces dependence on fossil resources, which form the basis of most alternatives, and encourages reuse and sustainable fashion, thanks to the durability and better biodegradability of articles made from leather.

At the same time, COP 28 is once again being called upon to adopt appropriate measures to correctly assess the life cycle of a product and to take into account all aspects of the production of any material, as well as the promotion of durable products that can be used many times, repaired and refurbished, as is the case with leather.

Greater use of natural materials such as leather would create jobs, generate wealth, reduce waste and could be a direct driver of more sustainable farming practices.

Leather Cluster Barcelona is an environment of competitive cooperation for promoting cross-cutting, transformative strategic projects with the aim of driving the ecosystem of the Catalan leather sector. The cluster is an entity accredited under the Catalonia Clusters programme and is supported by Acció.