Clean Leather – FAQ
Curious about Clean Leather? Start here.
These quick answers cover what the initiative is, who’s behind it, and how you can get involved, no jargon, just the essentials.
1 . What is Clean Leather?
An open approach to tanning leather exclusively with plant-based inputs, no heavy metals, no aldehydes, while making every production step fully traceable.
The focus on clean leather must be to promote the plastics free and micro plastics free environments we see in synthetic everything nowadays and also in Leather especially with leather metal tannages but also in leather finishes especially “metallic” finishes
2 . Does it replace existing standards like LWG?
No. Clean Leather focuses on ingredients and biological circularity. Audit frameworks such as LWG, which cover manufacturing processes , water consumption , energy and social topics, remain important—we fill the chemistry gap.
3 . Who is behind it?
Initiated by Jessica Widmaier (children’s-shoe founder, consumer perspective) and supported by a growing circle of tanneries, leather sellers, leather advocates, enthusiasts and influencers, leathercrafters, consumers, laboratories, sustainability ngo’s and truly sustainable brands.
4 . Are there guidelines already?
A first draft (v0.1) will be published in 2026 and will be open for public comment.
5 . How can I get involved?
– Give expert feedback once the draft is online.
– Apply as a pilot tannery or brand.
– Use our hashtag #cleanleather when posting about what you feel going green in leather with our common values is about .