The European Union has exempted leather from its landmark deforestation law, a move that has drawn criticism from environmental and supply chain researchers. This exemption was enacted while restrictions on beef imports remain in place, creating what critics call a regulatory contradiction.
Industry representatives gathered at the Sustainable Leather Forum in Paris presented leather as a circular economy component, utilizing bovine hides that might otherwise go to waste. However, researchers argue the exemption creates a loophole by splitting responsibility for a single production system, thereby weakening the law. Critics question why hides from the same animals as beef products subject to deforestation-free proof should enter Europe without equivalent oversight.
Source: Mongabay