This September saw a number of events that made it possible to give visibility to leather and its industry within the framework of Sustainable Fashion, highlighting the long life and longevity of articles made of leather.

On the one hand, Lineapelle, one of the oldest and most prestigious international leather fairs in the world, devoted to leather, accessories and components for the footwear, leather goods, garment and furniture industries, was held in Milan from 17 to 19 September.

The 104th edition of Lineapelle brought together 1,259 exhibitors from 43 countries across more than 45,000 square metres of exhibition space, consolidating the Italian fair in its position as a global platform for the fashion, luxury and design industries.

A total of ten tanning companies belonging to Leather Cluster Barcelona took part in Lineapelle, exhibiting their leather articles at this great international showcase where expert fashion professionals from all over the world gather in search of new products, trends and accessories.

The tanneries Aqualata, Badia, Colomer 1792, Combalia, Despell, La Doma, Miret, Morera Pell, Riba Guixà and Splenda exhibited in one of the world’s fashion capitals, Milan, championing leather as an example of the Circular Economy and Sustainable Fashion.

But Lineapelle was not the only event to defend leather as a benchmark of Sustainable Fashion. On 9 and 10 September the Sustainable Leather Forum sessions were held. The Sustainable Leather Forum is the first international event dedicated to sharing best practices in Corporate Social Responsibility in the leather sector and its ecosystem. Held in Paris, it brought together more than 400 international participants to discuss social, environmental and economic issues in the leather industry over two days of keynote lectures, round tables and networking sessions.

Also in the field of Sustainable Fashion and on a global scale, OXFAM, the international cooperation NGO that works to end poverty and inequality in the world, promoted the Second Hand September campaign this month, encouraging us all to take a stand against the fast fashion consumption model. ⁠

All these events are taking place amid a full-blown debate in society about production models and the use of sustainable articles in the fashion industry. In this respect, one of the United Nations’ global goals for protecting the planet is responsible production and consumption. In its 12th Sustainable Development Goal, the UN calls on governments, the private sector and society to increase resource efficiency for environmental preservation, promoting more sustainable consumption styles.

The current fashion model, based on fast fashion, is linked to a hyperconsumption that entails significant environmental consequences. In this context, leather positions itself as a clear example of the Circular Economy and Sustainable Fashion for reducing the negative impacts generated by fast fashion.

The leather industry contributes to responsible, sustainable consumption by revaluing a by-product so that it does not become waste, in order to produce durable consumer goods. In fact, a leather article can last a lifetime, offering a sustainable alternative to the throwaway culture.

In this context, leather is a durable, timeless material that can be used for many years and is therefore a good that helps reduce consumerism. This stands in contrast to fast fashion, a business model based on creating throwaway products, largely represented by synthetic materials that seek to imitate leather, made from plastic and therefore produced from petroleum-derived compounds, a limited natural resource which, beyond the negative environmental impact of its production process, is expensive and complicated to recycle and has very poor biodegradability.

Leather Cluster Barcelona is a competitive cooperation environment for promoting cross-cutting, transformative strategic projects with the aim of driving forward the ecosystem of the Catalan leather sector and its value chain within the framework of Shared Value policies. The cluster is an accredited body within the Catalonia Clusters programme and has the support of Acció.