The economic climate is challenging, and nobody at the Sustainable Leather Forum made any secret of it. But at the Paris event (7 September), organised by Alliance France Cuir (AFC) with CTC, a degree of optimism about the future of leather was also encouraged. There is no shortage of reasons for confidence. Research conducted by AFC’s Economic Observatory shows that, among a sample of 2,000 French consumers, 39% consider leather their preferred material (second only to cotton), 82% believe the tanning industry operates responsibly, and 57% think the material still has unexplored potential in fashion.
After all, there are the younger generations
Moving from the general to the specific, designer Yasu Michino (founder of the eponymous brand, pictured left) told the forum that young consumers like leather goods and that, when its qualities are explained to them, they are genuinely impressed. So, optimism yes, but on one condition: “not being naïve”, in other words, not being gullible — a motto that became the guiding theme of the event.
The study
The same study by AFC’s Economic Observatory contains several points worth considering. When asked about CSR issues, only 27% of respondents said they were familiar with the tanning process, while 56% admitted they knew nothing about it. Meanwhile, 62% believe that plant-based alternatives are as sustainable as leather, if not more so. In short, French consumers recognise leather’s qualities — above all its durability, which in turn makes accessories repairable — and have their own sustainability priorities, namely animal welfare for 48% of respondents and water resource management for 45%. Yet they also have a very vague understanding of how leather is collected and processed. This, then, is one of the fronts in the “communication battle” that industry representatives at the SLF itself said they intend to fight.
Do not be naïve about leather’s future
Returning to his own experience, Yasu Michino says that he too was struck by leather. He knew little about it, but after being unwillingly assigned to the accessories division during an internship at Sonia Rykiel, he never looked back. “I tell my young customers: why choose a PVC or canvas product when you can have leather?” This is why the designer is optimistic: he never sees young people regretting taking his advice. Optimism must not be naïve, we repeat once again — it must be based on facts.
Christophe Dehard, president of AFC (pictured right), knows that the road to winning over consumers is a difficult one: “The end consumer wants quality and sustainability, but does not want to acknowledge their price”, he concludes. “Although national and EU regulations seek to discourage fast-fashion consumption, the price gap between Made-in-Europe leather goods and imported products is still too wide to believe we can redirect those consumers towards us. I am certainly optimistic about the future. But I foresee a different market, with fewer companies, even more focused on the high end and better able to collaborate with one another on issues affecting the supply chain”.
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