Leather

Table of Contents

In some leather supply chains, production is vertically integrated, meaning that a single company owns the farm, slaughterhouse, and tannery. Others are dispersed and have separate entities fulfilling different processes, sometimes across multiple countries. Traceability systems and approaches will vary significantly depending on whether the supply chain is vertically integrated or dispersed.
Sources have noted labor rights risks at multiple tiers of the leather supply chain, including the cattle rearing, slaughterhouse, and tanning nodes. Traceability solutions should ideally account for all nodes of production, including informal worksites.
Leather production, especially that which takes place within tanneries, includes multiple chemical transformation processes and points of aggregation. Traceability approaches should take both of these complicating factors into account.
Leading guidance on traceability in leather supply chains suggests traceability systems that allow for traceability of both batches of hides and individual hides, depending on the specific supply chain. Traceability systems also must be capable of identifying the slaughterhouse of origin and transactions that occur between the slaughterhouse and the retailers of the finished leather products.¹

Child Labor Cited by U.S. Government

Risk of Child Labor Cited by Other Source

Documented presence of other vulnerable workers

Forced Labor or Trafficking in Persons Cited by U.S. Government

Risk of Forced Labor or Trafficking in Persons Cited by Other Source

Documented presence of migrant workers

Documented presence or significant likelihood of third-party labor recruiters

The U.S. Department of Labor notes the presence of child labor in the production of leather in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Vietnam.²
Labor rights organizations report the presence of child labor in the production of leather in Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, and Pakistan.³ There is a particular risk of labor abuses in the informal production sector, where government regulation, if existent, is difficult to enforce.⁴
Child labor-focused organizations have highlighted the presence of the worst forms of child labor (WFCL) in the leather supply chain in 103 out of 107 production processes. Children face hazardous working conditions due to use of toxic chemicals and gases, and heavy machinery; lack of personal protective equipment (PPE); low wages and temporary or non-existent contracts; excessive working hours; and a consequent loss of education.⁵
Workers’ rights groups have identified the presence of other vulnerable groups in the leather industry, such as women, ethnic and religious minorities, and homeworkers.⁶ Workers often come from marginalized communities due to the major role that social factors such as religion and case continue to play in shaping the composition of the workforce.⁷

Large numbers of dispersed, unorganized or informal small producers or other worksites

Multiple points of aggregation, co-mingling, and/or transformation across supply chain

Complex, opaque supply chains and/or lack of vertical integration

High degree of flexibility in procurement practices of downstream entities

Tanneries, the main node of the leather production process, may involve small, standalone enterprises; this is often the case in Bangladesh.⁸ Others may be part of vertically integrated enterprises that engage in both the production of leather and the manufacture of leather goods, which is common in Pakistan.⁹
Subcontracting is present in many stages of the leather supply chain, wherein micro and small firms act as subcontractors to larger firms. The leather industry is characterized by a high level of informal labor and home working.¹⁰
Tanneries can play different roles in the leather supply chain. Some are responsible for the entire transformation process from raw hide/skin to the final finished product, while others only perform parts of it. This means that there can be a range of supporting actors that may vary from one supply chain to another, even for the same product. These actors include agent traders who buy and sell material at different stages, agents who buy material from several sources for brands, and subcontractors who perform transformation processes on behalf of a tannery.¹¹
The leather industry is opaque by virtue of the multitude of different countries involved in the sourcing, processing, and manufacturing of both finished and semi-finished products.¹²
Tanneries may export leather through direct relations with foreign leather goods manufacturers or, as is often the case with smaller units, via buying agents, which adds an extra layer of complexity to the supply chain.¹³
Supply chains for exotic skins function similarly to those for livestock hides/skins, though they are generally subject to more government control because of the additional sensitivities and legal issues involved in their production processes. Luxury brands that use exotic skins are more likely to manage their supply chains from farm to product or to own their own farms, slaughterhouses, and tanneries.¹⁴

Scale or nature of risk is strongly associated with certain types of suppliers/entities

Scale or nature of risk is present across multiple tiers or nodes of supply chain (including in associated downstream or upstream goods)

Scale or nature of risk varies significantly based on geographic area of production

In the leather supply chain, there is a high risk of child labor when production occurs in low-income areas. In Dhaka, Bangladesh, for example, leather processing sites often engage children from slums as laborers.¹⁵
There is evidence of child labor, including the worst forms of child labor (WFCL), in almost all of the processes in leather production supply chains, from animal slaughter to the manufacture of finished leather products.¹⁶
Hazardous work is particularly prevalent in tanneries, where toxic chemicals and gases, as well as heavy machinery, are used in the various leather treatment processes.¹⁷
There is documented risk of child labor and forced labor in both upstream goods, such as cattle, and downstream goods, like garments, footwear, soccer balls, accessories.

Leather supply chains are highly complex because they include many processing steps and actors.¹⁸ Within leather production processes, there is a great deal of variability; not every production process follows the same sequence or involves the same actors.¹⁹ Some production processes are carried out by one vertically integrated business, while other processes may include separate, independent nodes and actors.²⁰ The following steps constitute a simplified, generic leather production process.

Farmers raise livestock, such as cattle, on farms and sell that livestock to a slaughterhouse. The hides and skins, which are the main goods involved in the leather production process, are then sold either to middlemen or directly to tanneries. In the tanneries, the hides and skins undergo multiple treatments, some of which require the use of potentially dangerous chemicals, to transform them into workable leather. These processes include cleaning, trimming, salt pickling, tanning, crusting, dyeing, and finishing. After the leather is processed, it can be exported or used locally for the production and assembly for further downstream goods, such as footwear and garments.²¹

Farm

Slaughterhouse

Tanneries

Product assembly (if vertically integrated operation)

Sale and distribution for further processing and end-product manufacturing

Hides and skins of cattle and bovine are used as the main source good in the production of leather.

Textiles Apparel and Luxury Goods

Leather is used in the production of leather goods and accessories, garments, and footwear, including sandals.

Household Goods

Leather is used in the production of soccer balls and some household goods, such as furniture.

Leather traceability using additive tracers Leather traceability using automatic laser marking Leather & Cotton traceability using supply chain mapping UNECE Blockchain Traceability Pilot Projects – Cotton and Leather Value Chains See Textile Exchange’s “Traceability Solution Providers in the Leather Supply Chain” webinar (May 2021) for more examples of leather traceability.

1
Leather Supply Chain Mapping & Traceability Guidelines. Leather Impact Accelerator and Textile Exchange, 2021, https://textileexchange.org/app/uploads/2021/02/LIA-261-V0.1-Leather-Supply-Chain-Mapping-and-Traceability-Guidelines.pdf.
2
List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor. Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 28 September 2022, www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods?tid=All&field_exp_good_target_id=5815&field_exp_exploitation_type_target_id_1=All&items_per_page=10.
3
How footwear companies and luxury brands tackle forced labor risks in their leather supply chains. KnowTheChain, June 2017, https://knowthechain.org/wp-content/uploads/KTC-LeatherLabor-Case-Study_Final.pdf.
4
Leather. Responsible Sourcing Tool, www.responsiblesourcingtool.org/commodities/70.pdf.
5
Maksud, AKM., et al. Emerging Evidence Report 5. Mapping of children engaged in the worst forms of child labor in the supply chain of the leather industry in Bangladesh. CLARISSA, July 2021, https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/16743/CLARISSA%20EER5%20FINAL%208VII21%20online.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y.
6
Launch programme ‘Together for Decent Leather.‘ SOMO, 7 October 2020, www.somo.nl/launch-together-for-decent-leather/.
7
Trends in production and trade. Leather products from India. ARISA & Together for Decent Leather, May 2021, https://togetherfordecentleather.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Leather-products-from-Bangladesh_final.pdf.
8
Trends in production and trade. Leather products from Bangladesh. SOMO & Together for Decent Leather, July 2021, https://togetherfordecentleather.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Leather-products-from-Bangladesh_final.pdf.
9
Trends in production and trade. Leather products from Pakistan. SOMO & Together for Decent Leather, April 2021, https://www.somo.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Leather-products-from-Pakistan.pdf.
10
Trends in production and trade. Leather products from Bangladesh. SOMO & Together for Decent Leather, July 2021, https://togetherfordecentleather.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Leather-products-from-Bangladesh_final.pdf.
11
Enhancing the Traceability and Transparency of Sustainable Value Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector. Business Process Analysis for Sustainability and Circularity in the Leather Value Chain. UNECE, 2021, https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/E320_BPA-SVC-leather.pdf.
12
Trends in production and trade. Leather products from Bangladesh. SOMO & Together for Decent Leather, July 2021, https://togetherfordecentleather.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Leather-products-from-Bangladesh_final.pdf.
13
Trends in production and trade. Leather products from Bangladesh. SOMO & Together for Decent Leather, July 2021, https://togetherfordecentleather.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Leather-products-from-Bangladesh_final.pdf.
14
Enhancing the Traceability and Transparency of Sustainable Value Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector. Business Process Analysis for Sustainability and Circularity in the Leather Value Chain. UNECE, 2021, https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/E320_BPA-SVC-leather.pdf.
15
Maksud, AKM., et al. Emerging Evidence Report 5. Mapping of children engaged in the worst forms of child labor in the supply chain of the leather industry in Bangladesh. CLARISSA, July 2021, https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/16743/CLARISSA%20EER5%20FINAL%208VII21%20online.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y.
16
Maksud, AKM., et al. Emerging Evidence Report 5. Mapping of children engaged in the worst forms of child labor in the supply chain of the leather industry in Bangladesh. CLARISSA, July 2021, https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/16743/CLARISSA%20EER5%20FINAL%208VII21%20online.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y.
17
Maksud, AKM., et al. Emerging Evidence Report 5. Mapping of children engaged in the worst forms of child labor in the supply chain of the leather industry in Bangladesh. CLARISSA, July 2021, https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/16743/CLARISSA%20EER5%20FINAL%208VII21%20online.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y.
18
Enhancing the Traceability and Transparency of Sustainable Value Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector. Business Process Analysis for Sustainability and Circularity in the Leather Value Chain. UNECE, 2021, https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/E320_BPA-SVC-leather.pdf.
19
Enhancing the Traceability and Transparency of Sustainable Value Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector. Business Process Analysis for Sustainability and Circularity in the Leather Value Chain. UNECE, 2021, https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/E320_BPA-SVC-leather.pdf.
20
Trends in production and trade. Leather products from Pakistan. SOMO & Together for Decent Leather, April 2021, https://www.somo.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Leather-products-from-Pakistan.pdf.
21
Enhancing the Traceability and Transparency of Sustainable Value Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector. Business Process Analysis for Sustainability and Circularity in the Leather Value Chain. UNECE, 2021, https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/E320_BPA-SVC-leather.pdf.
22
List of exporters for the selected product in 2021. Product: 41 Raw hides and skins (other than furskins) and leather. ITC Trade Map, 2021, www.trademap.org/Country_SelProduct.aspx?nvpm=1%7c%7c%7c%7c%7c41%7c%7c%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c2%7c1%7c%7c2%7c1%7c%7c1.

Funding is provided by the United States Department of Labor under cooperative agreement number IL‐35805. 100 percent of the total costs of the project or program is financed with federal funds, for a total of USD 4,000,000. This material does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government

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Supply Chain Characteristics that Impact Traceability

Traceability Takeaways

Nature of Labor Rights Risk/Vulnerable Workers

Features of Production and Supply Chain

Distribution of Labor Risk in Various Production Areas

Linked Upstream and Downstream Risks

Risk in Nodes in Leather Production

Associated Upstream Goods with Labor Risk

Associated Downstream Goods and Consumer Sectors

Top Global Countries

Examples & Resources: Traceability Efforts Associated with Leather

Footnotes