Sustainability has emerged as one of the most important requirements for any business and as such goes hand in hand with leather manufacturing. Debates on the sustainability of real leather is a hot topic in for example the fashion industry, which is encountering a selection of alternative materials and sometimes confusing messaging. It is also experienced that a concept of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is often requested as input data from a supplier, without realizing what an LCA is, what it takes to perform it or what it is meant to be used for. In this Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) paper, we explain the basics for a better understanding of the concept of environmental sustainability, focusing on the leather industry. In this context most of the generally recognized, common methods to measure sustainability such as biodegradability and LCA are also explained. Download the FAQ Understanding the Concept of Environmental Sustainability in the Leather Value Chain My email address** First name** Last name** Company name** Stay informed Please keep me informed about the latest news on Smit & Zoon and the leather industry.Consent* I have read and accepted the Terms & conditions and Privacy Statement. Δ This FAQ was written to offer our knowledge in accelerating the process of creating a socially and environmentally sustainable leather value chain in a responsible and circular society. Dr. Yujie Ma, Senior Scientist Lorenzo Taddei, Product Development Engineer Lilian Chang, Global Director R&D Egbert Dikkers, Global Director Sustainability Send an email Interesting for you Discover more on Sustainability C14 explained C14 or carbon-14 is the longest-lived radioactive isotope of carbon, whose decay allows the accurate dating of archaeological, geological and hydrogeological artifacts. C14 relates to the renewable carbon content of a material and can be directly measured using analytical tools. Leather, a renewable material Leather starts with a hide or skin, which is a natural material and 100% bio-based. By using products in the leather making process with a high level of bio-based content, the level of renewability of the material remains high. Being proud of leather I am proud to be part of the leather industry, an industry that has been making a huge progress to manufacture a sustainable material, bringing comfort, luxury and joy to consumers. Sustainability Discover Stay informed Receive the latest company news and industry updates Subscribe Share this: