Press Release: European Parliament Becomes the Stage for Explaining Leather: Industry Declares—Leather is Not a Driver of Deforestation!
3 June, 2025
Brussels
The European Parliament became the global stage for the European leather industry to deliver a clear and science-backed message: leather is not a driver of deforestation.
Hosted by MEP Salvatore De Meo (EPP, Italy) in close collaboration with COTANCE and UNIC, the high-level workshop titled “EUDR: Is Leather a Driver of Deforestation? – Bringing facts to the European Parliament” brought together over 50 in-person stakeholders from across the globe. Participants included diplomatic representatives from the United States, Argentina, Turkey, and Australia, alongside officials from EU Member States (Italy, Poland), the European Commission, Members of the European Parliament, international organisations, industry experts, and representatives from leading companies and tanneries.
The event marked a major milestone in the industry's advocacy efforts and reinforced the importance of evidence-based policymaking in the revision of Annex I of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
The high-level event showcased the findings of the study conducted by the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (University of Pisa), offering a comprehensive review of academic literature and available data on whether leather contributes to deforestation or not. The workshop also served as the missing impact assessment on leather—filling a critical gap in the ongoing review of Annex I of the EUDR under Article 34.
Mr Luca Boltri, Vice-Director of the Italian Tanners’ Association - UNIC, said : “We are grateful to Italian MEP Salvatore De Meo (EPP), who listened to our concerns and gave us this opportunity to bringing to the European Institutions the facts of the impact of a piece of EU legislation which is totally disconnected from the realities of the leather industry.”
“I am happy to stand up for an industry that is the pride of Italian fashion and that is unfairly stigmatized in the EUDR. We all want to curb deforestation, but it is not helping the credibility of EU legislation if it sets up measures that have no real effect on the environment while they stifle the competitiveness of EU industry” - said Salvatore De Meo, MEP (EPP/Italy).
Key Workshop Points:
No Direct Link to Deforestation: The study, supported by an extensive academic analysis (94 million+ records, 29,200+ active serial titles, and 330,000+ books) and 28 stakeholder interviews, found no direct link between leather and deforestation. No denial that Leather is derived from cattle, but cattle is raised for meat and dairy, not the hide, which arises as a residue. Hence, its production does not incentivise cattle farming.
Severe Economic Impact: There is hardly any extra-EU country that can implement EUDR's mandatory traceability requirements. As 40% of EU leather raw materials needs come from extra-EU, their loss could severely disrupt the European cattle hide supply chain. Moreover, without the inclusion of products downstream to leather production, EU businesses are put in a critical situation, which risks resulting in significant job losses across the industry’s value chain.
Environmental Risks of Alternatives: The study warns that short-circuiting the European leather industry and replacing leather with synthetic alternatives like polyurethane leather-like materials (PU LLM) could increase environmental damage, in terms of higher emissions and resource use. Diverting cattle hides to landfills or to countries with weaker environmental standards would undermine the Green Deal’s goals.
“The Pisa study and recent public consultation on the review of EUDR Annex 1 sent a powerful message to the European Commission. Stakeholders across Europe and from third countries—SMEs and citizens alike—emphasise that complying with the EUDR is not in their hands. Extra-EU supply chains will not set up costly cattle traceability systems just for a residue of meat production. Is the EU really expecting that a handful of EU tanners drive EUDR-type cattle traceability at global scale? Will EU policymakers acknowledge the evidence and listen to the voice of the leather industry?” - stated Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, Secretary General of COTANCE, during his presentation.
As the European Commission prepares to review the scope of the EU Deforestation Regulation, COTANCE and its partners evidenced the growing international concerns for the future of the leather industry in the EU and strongly urged policymakers to exclude hides, skins, and leather from Annex I.
END OF PRESS RELEASE
Photos
For high-resolution photos or additional media requests, please contact: cotance@euroleather.com 
References:
Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (University of Pisa)
University of Montana - Brazil
University of Montana - USA
