Our History

Leather Naturally was launched in 2010 as a global, industry-funded initiative with a clear purpose: to promote the responsible use of leather and build a more accurate understanding of the material across supply chains and consumer markets worldwide.

It was born out of collaboration between organisations spanning the full leather value chain, who recognised that the industry needed a single, unified and factual voice. As public debate around materials and sustainability intensified, leather was increasingly misrepresented or oversimplified. The industry deserved better, and so did the consumers trying to make informed choices. From the outset, Leather Naturally committed to education, transparency and global engagement. It built an international membership network spanning tanneries, brands, suppliers and trade bodies, and launched initiatives including World Leather Day, a global celebration of leather's durability, longevity and repairability that continues to grow in reach and impact each year. Perhaps the most significant milestone in the organisation's history came in 2024. Working alongside key industry collaborators and leading technical experts, Leather Naturally helped deliver a new, industry-representative life cycle assessment dataset for bovine leather. When adopted into the Higg Materials Sustainability Index, this dataset significantly reduced the Global Warming Potential score attributed to leather, replacing outdated assumptions with real-world production data. It was a landmark moment, materially changing how leather's environmental impact is represented within one of the most widely used material sustainability tools in the global fashion and retail industry. Today, Leather Naturally continues to serve as the world's leading platform for accurate, evidence-based information about leather, ensuring the industry is fairly represented in policy discussions, sustainability frameworks and public debate.