Industry body aims to avoid US hide wastage

Several million hides from US cattle are currently discarded as waste each year.

The Leather and Hide Council of America (LHCA) has announced its intention to eliminate waste from the US dairy and meat industry. The country’s leather industry reportedly uses over 80 per cent of domestically-produced hides. However, the LHCA has given a commitment to ensure that the rest are used to make shoes, clothing, furniture and car interiors instead of being incinerated or sent to landfill. The body is also stepping up its global campaign to help consumers make more informed decisions about the products they buy, by sharing the facts about leather’s sustainable properties and addressing myths presented about the industry.

According to calculations by the LHCA, reaching this goal would save an estimated 137,500 tons of waste every year, while at the same time preventing the equivalent of 120,000 tons of carbon emissions from ending up in US landfill sites. The body says that it has several initiatives designed to assist buyers and consumers to make more responsible choices. In order to provide confidence

in the sourcing of leather, the LHCA aims to expand its traceability programme for US-produced hides and, working with bodies such as the National Wildlife Federation and World Wildlife Fund, it also intends to develop international equivalents.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 2 of the June 2021 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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