The collaboration aims to serve as a model for how industry organisations can collaborate to address critical sustainability challenges. Credit: Shutterstock.

The collaboration between the ZDHC Foundation and Leather Working Group lies in aligning the LWG audit standard and the ZDHC Roadmap to Zero Programme and focuses specifically on impact areas such as the ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL), wastewater management, and air emissions.

By integrating the LWG Audit Standard with ZDHC’s Supplier to Zero and InCheck Solutions, the collaboration aims to ease the burden on leather manufacturers to comply with multiple standards while ensuring responsible chemical management.

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Janne Koopmans, collaborations director at ZDHC said: “When joining hands, we not only lighten the load on manufacturers but also create a seismic shift towards positive change in responsible practices.”

Stuart Cranfield, director of standards and assurance at LWG, echoed this sentiment and added: “We’re thrilled to unite with ZDHC to enhance efficiency and amplify impact.

“Together, we stride towards a more sustainable leather manufacturing industry worldwide.”

The two organisations explained the collaboration aims to ease the burden on leather manufacturers to comply with multiple standards while still upholding responsible chemical management and see brands and industry media as “critical” to spreading awareness of this new “harmonised” approach.

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The foundation urged other organisations to explore similar partnerships that converge on shared objectives while reducing inefficiencies.

ZDHC added: “Together, we can redefine business as usual and prove cooperation paves the path to a responsible, sustainable future.”

In October Fibre52’s cotton Prepare for Dye (PFD) and dye biochemistries were certified by ZDHC and are now on its list of approved chemistries.

In a bid to create equitable, transparent, and deforestation-free leather supply chains, global non-profit organisations Textile Exchange and LWG teamed up last June to launch the Deforestation-Free Call to Action for Leather.

Brands that join the initiative are expected to take several measures, including setting leather sourcing requirements, mapping supply chains to the slaughterhouse level, making financial investments to increase the supply of traceable and deforestation-free leather, implementing traceability systems, and committing to respect human rights throughout the entire bovine leather supply chain.

It was reported at the time that progress would be reported annually through Textile Exchange’s Materials Benchmark and the Leather Working Group’s Sourcing Declaration.