Leather Goods

Table of Contents

In some leather supply chains, production is vertically integrated (meaning a single company owns the farm, slaughterhouse, and tannery). In other leather supply chains, different processes are fulfilled by separate entities, with upstream entities potentially spanning multiple countries. Supply chain mapping and discovery to understand the degree to which a given leather supply chain is vertically integrated or more dispersed is therefore a critical first step in traceability system design.
Labor rights risks have been noted at multiple tiers of leather production, including animal husbandry, slaughterhouse, and tanning nodes. Traceability solutions will ideally account for all nodes of production, including informal worksites. 
Within the leather production processes, especially within tanneries, leather is subjected to multiple (chemical) transformation processes and aggregation. Traceability solutions should take these chemical processes and points of aggregation into account.  
Given these factors, leading guidance for traceability in leather supply chains suggests traceability systems that a) allow for traceability of batches of hides or of individual hides, depending on supply chain needs, and b) are capable of identifying the slaughterhouse of origin and transactions between the slaughterhouse and finished leather product.¹

Child labor cited by U.S. government

Risk of Child Labor cited by other source

Documented presence of migrant workers

Documented presence of other vulnerable workers

Documented presence or significant likelihood of third-party labor recruiters

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

Risk of forced labor or trafficking in persons cited by other source

The U.S. Department of Labor has reported child labor in leather goods production in India and Mexico.²
Other investigations have also identified risks of child labor in Bangladesh’s leather industry.³
Some migrant workers have been reported in leather goods supply chains in Turkey and in India.⁴
Leather goods are frequently produced by informal workers, including homeworkers, many of whom are women with insecure employment, low wages, and lacking appropriate health and safety protection.⁵ Older women in particular were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as they were disproportionately fired when buyers rescinded orders and lockdowns impacted production.⁶ In India, many workers are also from Scheduled Castes, which increases their risk of exploitation, such as low wages and hazardous working conditions.⁷
In India, leather goods factories are reported to recruit workers through labor brokers.⁸

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

In Northern India, much of the manufacturing of leather goods is subcontracted out to small, informal worksites.⁹
The involvement of different intermediaries, including agents/traders and importers/exporters,¹⁰ as well as the fact that some leather goods are comprised of various leather components,¹¹ indicate multiple points of aggregation, co-mingling, and/or transformation of leather across supply chain.

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

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

Labor risks have been identified in production of finished leather and manufacturing of leather goods.

Agents/traders buy finished leather from slaughterhouses and tanneries, then sell it to manufacturing facilities with the potential presence of importers/exporters as intermediaries.¹² Manufacturing of leather goods, such as leather handbags and harnesses, may be done by brands or outsourced to industrial suppliers.¹³ At this node, different components of leather goods, such as belts, handles, and bodies of leather handbags, are produced through various processing steps, which may include leather cutting, splitting, skiving, gluing, edge folding, stitching, stamping, fastening, and painting.¹⁴ The components are then assembled into final goods and sold to retailers and wholesalers for distribution.¹⁵

Manufacturing

Trade and Transport of Finished Leather

Wholesale and Retail Distribution

The production of raw leather, a primary input for leather goods, has been associated with forced labor and child labor.

Textiles Apparel and Luxury Goods

Leather Goods/Accessories are associated with the Textiles, Apparel, and Luxury Goods sector.

China
Italy
France
Germany
Vietnam
India
Netherlands
Cambodia
Spain
Singapore

Leather & Cotton traceability using supply chain mapping UNECE Blockchain Traceability Pilot Projects – Cotton and Leather Value Chains Leather traceability using additive tracers Leather traceability using automatic laser marking

1
Leather Supply Chain Mapping & Traceability Guidelines. Leather Impact Accelerator and Textile Exchange, 2021, 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, 2021, www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods?tid=All&field_exp_good_target_id=5746&field_exp_exploitation_type_target_id_1=All&items_per_page=10.
3
Mapping of Children Engaged in the Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Supply Chain of the Leather Industry in Bangladesh. Institute of Development Studies, 2021, opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/16743.
4
Coşkun, E. “Criminalisation and prostitution of migrant women in Turkey: A case study of Ugandan women,” Women’s Studies International Forum, 2018, doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2018.03.002; Do leather workers matter? Violating Labour Rights and Environmental Norms in India’s Leather Production. ICN, March 2017, www.indianet.nl/pdf/DoLeatherWorkersMatter.pdf.
5
Do Leather Workers Matter? Violating Labour Rights and Environmental Norms in India’s Leather Production. ICN, March 2017,www.indianet.nl/pdf/DoLeatherWorkersMatter.pdf
6
Theuws, M. & Overeem, P. Shine a light on leather: Discussion paper on transparency in the leatherware supply chain, October 2022, togetherfordecentleather.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Shine-a-light-on-leather-Paper.pdf.
7
Do Leather Workers Matter? Violating Labour Rights and Environmental Norms in India’s Leather Production. ICN, March 2017,www.indianet.nl/pdf/DoLeatherWorkersMatter.pdf
8
Theuws, M. & Overeem, P. Shine a light on leather: Discussion paper on transparency in the leatherware supply chain, October 2022, togetherfordecentleather.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Shine-a-light-on-leather-Paper.pdf.
9
Do Leather Workers Matter? Violating Labour Rights and Environmental Norms in India’s Leather Production. ICN, March 2017, www.indianet.nl/pdf/DoLeatherWorkersMatter.pdf
10
Business Process Analysis for Sustainability and Circularity in the Leather Value Chain. UNECE, 2021, unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/E320_BPA-SVC-leather.pdf.
11
Kongprasert, Nattapong. A methodology for the selection of manufacturing processes based on the design of the Manufacturing Matrix. 2012. www.researchgate.net/publication/280824727_A_methodology_for_the_selection_of_manufacturing_processes_based_on_the_design_of_the_Manufacturing_Matrix.
12
Business Process Analysis for Sustainability and Circularity in the Leather Value Chain. UNECE, 2021, unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/E320_BPA-SVC-leather.pdf.
13
usiness Process Analysis for Sustainability and Circularity in the Leather Value Chain. UNECE, 2021, unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/E320_BPA-SVC-leather.pdf.
14
Kongprasert, Nattapong. A methodology for the selection of manufacturing processes based on the design of the Manufacturing Matrix. 2012. www.researchgate.net/publication/280824727_A_methodology_for_the_selection_of_manufacturing_processes_based_on_the_design_of_the_Manufacturing_Matrix.
15
Agricultural Commodity Supply Chains Trade, Consumption and Deforestation. The Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2016, www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/publications/research/2016-01-28-agricultural-commodities-brack-glover-wellesley.pdf.

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 Goods Production

Associated Upstream Goods with Labor Risk

Associated Downstream Goods and Consumer Sectors

Top Global Countries

Examples & Resources: Traceability Efforts Associated With Leather Goods

Footnotes