This global initiative aims to raise public awareness of the positive attributes of leather

For the third consecutive year, the international bodies of the leather sector, Leather Working Group (LWG) and Leather Naturally (LN), have jointly promoted the celebration of World Leather Day.

World Leather Day, held on 26 April, is a global campaign whose purpose is to raise society’s awareness of the benefits of leather.

The central theme of this third edition in 2024 is repair, reuse and recovery, emphasising the durable, repairable and versatile qualities of leather that make it the ideal material for a circular society.

Leather and its industry promote highly sustainable environmental practices. On the one hand, the recovery and recycling of the by-products of the leather process and their valorisation and reuse in new products; on the other, the long service life of leather articles. Both help to reduce environmental impact.

Leather Cluster Barcelona supports the initiative and joins the celebration of World Leather Day, championing leather as a benchmark of the circular economy and an example of sustainable fashion.

Leather is a by-product, a consequence of the consumption of meat, the main source of protein for more than 90% of the world’s population. The leather industry recovers and recycles this by-product so that it does not become waste and adds value to it in elegant, noble articles that are useful to society. Every year, 24 billion square metres of leather are produced worldwide, the equivalent of three quarters of the surface area of Catalonia. This leather is used to make a range of articles such as handbags, wallets, purses, belts, footwear and garments which, in the absence of this use, would mostly be produced with plastic materials that are far less sustainable.

The leather sector contributes to responsible and sustainable consumption by adding value to a waste product in order to produce durable consumer goods: a leather article can last a lifetime. In this sense, leather is a timeless material that can be used for many years and is therefore a good that helps to reduce consumerism while bringing elegance and style. Leather stands in contrast to fast fashion, throwaway fashion, whose enormous environmental impacts are now beginning to become evident. Moreover, at the end of its service life, leather stands out for a degree of biodegradability and compostability that is significantly higher than that of most alternatives, thus aligning with the principles of sustainable fashion and responsible consumption.

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 accredited entity within the Catalonia Clusters programme and is supported by Acció.