Leather body calls for fairer marketing
03/05/2023
LHCA believes that the guidelines need updating to reflect new developments in environmental science and technology, including the increased application of lifecycle assessments (LCAs) to substantiate a product or material's environmental impact.
The guidelines should consider the environmental impact of a product throughout its entire lifecycle through to its disposal to provide a correct accounting of its environmental footprint, it said.
In his letter, Stephen Sothmann, president of the LHCA, explained how the leather supply chain was "keenly aware" of the impact deceptive marketing practices can have on consumer behaviour and buying decisions and how, every year, US hides and skins derived from food-producing animals were wastefully disposed of in landfills or incinerators - all of which negatively affected the climate. He said the cause of this waste was due to the rise of synthetic petrochemical-based plastics that have displaced natural leather as a primary material in many consumer goods industries while making unsubstantiated marketing claims.
He said: "We welcome and appreciate the opportunity to submit LHCA's comments to the Federal Trade Commission in relation to the review of its Green Guides. The consumer is being misled by greenwashing claims, particularly in the textiles sector that's driven by petroleum-derived synthetics, who often masquerade their products as being "green" or good for the environment.
"They do this by utilising vague or opaque language in their marketing materials, terms such as vegan leather, cruelty-free leather, plant-based leather or ecoleather, masking that they are actually made with plastic. We believe it's important to take a stand on behalf of naturally derived materials, and the consumer, and call for an end to 'greenwashing' in marketing that's responsible for causing so much confusion and damage to the environment.
“We urge the FTC to take a strong stance and decisive action in updating the Green Guides to promote truthful and accurate environmental marketing practices as the current deliberate misleading of the public must stop."
The Green Guides were first issued in 1992 and were revised in 1996, 1998 and 2012. They provide guidance on environmental marketing claims, including how consumers are likely to interpret particular claims and how marketers can substantiate these claims to avoid deceiving consumers. The FTC in December asked for public feedback, to help as they are reviewed again.
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