The term 'leather' is protected by French legislation
Leather is the result of the transformation of putrescible matter, namely animal skin, into a durable and rot-proof product, by tanners.
In the decree of 2010-29 of January 8 2010 regarding article L.214-1 of the French Consumer Code pertaining to certain leather and similar products specifies that:
"The use of the word leather (...) is forbidden in the designation of any material other than that obtained from animal skin by means of tanning or correcting, preserving the natural shape of the skin fibers."
To this end, the Federation acts in association with top French Leather Industry Players and the Alliance France Cuir (AFCuir), to defend and protect the accurate use of the term ‘Leather’.
View Leather Decree.
No other material, regardless of origin: plant-based, petrochemicals, or of mixed-origin, or any other non-animal source, may legally be called ‘LEATHER’.
Accordingly, the use of the term ‘leather’ to describe non-animal materials is a breach of the relevant legislation and should be banned, with judicial proceedings pursued as necessary.
According to The Federation of French Tanners, the term ‘LEATHER’ should be upheld in accordance with its legal definition and proper term of use and meaning.
View the Conseil National du Cuir press release about the use of the Term “Leather”.
Leather: Leading the way in Technical Performance
In 2021, the independent German laboratory FILK (Institute for Leather and Synthetic Materials) released a comparative study of leather and 9 other materials most often advertised as alternatives to leather.
View full French version of the of the 13.02.2021 article FILK Freiberg Institute GmbH.
View Key Results and Findings.
The key study takeaway: none of the tested materials meets the multi‑functional performance, durability, comfort and structural coherence of genuine leather. Consequently, real leather remains irreplaceable.
It’s critical that consumers and clients understand the cons/shortcomings of these so-called alternative leather materials and take these factors into account so that the products they design, or purchase live up to the level of performance they can rightfully expect.