COTANCE November 2025 Newsletter

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Leather: The Hidden Engine of Europe’s Bioeconomy

Leather may be one of the oldest materials known to humanity – yet it remains one of the most innovative and underutilized resources in today’s green transition. Far beyond its price per square meter, leather embodies the very essence of the EU’s bioeconomy: circularity, sustainability, and longevity.

Since leather is fundamentally biobased, circular, and biodegradable, it deserves a central place in Europe’s bioeconomy strategy, expected by the end of 2025, and in the upcoming EU regulation on circular economy, anticipated in early 2026, as well as in all future EU initiatives.

Why Leather Belongs in Europe’s Bioeconomy

Leather stands out among materials for its unique ability to:

♻️ Turn waste into value – The tanning process upgrades by-products from the food industry that would otherwise become waste, transforming them into long-lasting products used in the fashion and lifestyle sectors.

🌿 Store carbon naturally – by sequestering CO₂ in sustainable leather products throughout their lifespan, which often spans several decades.

🧵 Be repaired and renewed – Unlike fast fashion materials, which quickly lose their value and are rarely repaired, leather has well-established cobblers and repair workshops for leather goods, allowing consumer products to remain useful for decades.

🌍 Offer a natural end of life – Leather is biodegradable under suitable conditions, unlike many synthetic alternatives that persist in the environment.

🧠 Combine tradition and innovation – The sector unites centuries of European expertise with advanced technology to enhance sustainability, traceability, and process efficiency – literally creating beauty from waste.

Leather is Europe’s original circular material – renewable, sustainable, and fully aligned with the EU’s vision of a climate-neutral and resource-efficient economy.

A Call to Action for a Truly Circular Future

🇪🇺 We urge the EU to:

  • Recognize and promote the use of animal by-products in the EU’s bioeconomy and circular economy policies.

  • Ensure fair and transparent labeling to protect consumers from misleading claims like “vegan leather.”

  • Include leather in sustainable public procurement frameworks to promote sustainable and renewable materials.

  • Support research and development, innovation, and skills to accelerate the green and digital transition of Europe’s SMEs.

🏭 We urge Europe’s leather value chain and its partners to:

  • Continue to set examples. Keep improving tanning processes, finishing methods, and material traceability.

  • Your innovation – from water reuse to biobased chemicals and low-impact techniques – is what makes European leather the gold standard for sustainability and craftsmanship.

  • Be proud, continue to innovate, and show that tradition and technology can go hand in hand in the green transition.

👩‍🎨 We urge citizens and consumers to:

  • Choose leather – not just because it’s stylish, but because it’s smart, sustainable, and built to last.

  • Leather is a material that ages beautifully, is easily repaired, and safely returns to nature.

  • By using leather in everyday life – from shoes to furniture – you support European craftsmanship, the circular economy, and a more responsible way of living.

💬 For leather is not a material of the past – it is a material for Europe’s future.

This post is also available in: Swedish