
Challenges
Polluting practices
Leather processing takes place in almost every country in the world with millions of people working in the industry. This brings with it considerable social and environmental challenges in each step of the chain, from livestock farming to slaughterhouses, tanneries to manufacturing.
With the success of electro-oxidation treatment, we would be able to re-circulate almost 100% of the water we use. We aim for a zero-liquid waste process.
Taj Alam, Uttar Pradesh Leather Industry Association, India
Solutions
Cooperation is crucial
Our work brings people in and around the leather supply chain together to find, test and share solutions worldwide. Cooperation in the supply chain is crucial to promote sustainability. That’s why we work in collaboration with both local and international partners on our projects.

If I buy a shirt, I want the best quality I can afford. If I eat, I want good food. So if I run an industry, why shouldn’t I want to do that in the best way possible?
Ghulam Sabir, Gujarat Tanners, India
Achievements
Quality improvements
In Ethiopia, we achieved a 17 percent reduction in the rejection rates of hides and skins from slaughterhouses. The improvement in quality of hides and skins is attributed to training and routine follow up on reduction of defects, such as deformation, holes, and knife cuts, targeting slaughterhouses.

Hitting milestones
Our leather programme witnessed some major milestones. A multi-stakeholder platform was successfully launched under the auspices of the National Mission for Clean Ganga. Successful pilots included reducing sulphides and other chemicals in the waste water stream, and zero waste discharge through electro-oxidation.
Ethiopia’s Green Tanning Initiative (GTI) project supported 23 tanneries and three abattoirs through various workshops on cleaner leather production, and a first B2B matchmaking mission attracted representatives from seven European leather-sourcing companies to Ethiopia.

Pollution prevention
In the project “Pollution prevention and efficient water use in the Kanpur Unnao leather cluster” in India and in the Green Tanning Initiative in Ethiopia, Solidaridad has kick-started promoting sustainability in the leather sector, in partnership with local stakeholders and global actors in the value chain.
