German leather industry association VDL has won an important court case. It successfully challenged a company’s use of the term ‘leather’ in products made from synthetic material.

Under competition laws in Germany, some trade associations have the authority to issue legal warnings to companies whose marketing messages are likely to mislead or confuse consumers. VDL earned the right to take that action in 2023.

It exercised this right in a case against a company called Mina Merchandising GmbH, which was selling dog collars made from synthetic material marketed as ‘apple leather’.

Mina Merchandising is a company founded by Martin Rütter, a well known television personality, speaker and writer who specialises in dog-training.

The company first received a formal warning from VDL about its misuse of the term ‘leather’, but Mina Merchandising ignored it. This brought the matter to court.

A first-instance court initially rejected VDL’s case, but the leather industry organisation appealed. At the start of July, the Higher Regional Court in Cologne heard the appeal and found in VDL’s favour.

The court said the term ‘leather’ may only be used when a product is made entirely or partially from animal hide. It also said that using the term ‘apple leather’ for products that contain no leather was deceptive and unlawful.

VDL managing director, Andreas Meyer, commented: “We are not opposed to new materials, but we do not want these materials to be referred to as leather. To do so would be to mislead consumers.”

Image: Südleder.