The SLF team shared a rare opportunity to come together in person during Lineapelle on 19-21st September. Our Technical Director, Katie Kutskill was present from the USA and joined Sam, our Operations Manager and Deborah our MD, on our stand, where we welcomed visitors from all around the world.
From Tuesday through to Thursday the fair welcomed approximately 25,000 visitors and 1,330 exhibitors from 47 countries.
At SLF’s stand the team was busy across the three days with many important and exciting conversations both with new and familiar faces from all across the leather sector. Many of the discussions were centred around the need for traceability and how SLF can support companies to meet the incoming legislation around due diligence and ESG reporting.
We would like to thank everyone who visited and took information away with them – we are looking forward to hearing from you soon and to developing some of the projects under discussion!
For information on how SLF can help your business become certified, traceable and responsible, get in touch by emailing us below:
Leather Traceability Cluster - Update and Networking Session
During Lineapelle, on the evening of Tuesday the 19th, COTANCE hosted a networking reception to take stock of one year of activities in its alignment initiative of leather traceability certification schemes with its partners including; ICEC, LWG, SLF, OEKO-TEX®, Textile Exchange and others, who agreed to form a common minimum essential elements of traceability and evidence of verification to be present in their certifications and schemes.
After a first phase where the LTC expanded its membership to reach critical mass, members have been advancing by setting up Sub-Groups. There are currently 2 active Sub-Groups, one on “Certification” and a second one on “Standardisation”. A third Sub-Group is in the making addressing “Transparency & Data Privacy Issues”. A forth Sub-Group focussing on “Deforestation” should also soon be set up for translating the specific requirements set by the EUDR into CEN-Standard specifications.
COTANCE’s Secretary General, Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, expressed his excitement about the collaboration, saying,
“COTANCE is proud to be at the origin of this important initiative that aims to increase the efficiency of certification bodies in developing leather traceability and bring considerable savings for all the links in the leather value chain, as it enables convergence and mutual recognition. The spirit of cooperation demonstrated by all members of the Leather Traceability Cluster (LTC) is remarkable and a vivid example of how collaboration and competition can and must co-exist when it comes to overcome common challenges.”