Sustainablity in

leather supply chain

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What is
sustainablity
Is sustainablity a trend or here to stay?
 Defining sustainability
▫ The word sustainability generally refers to the “sustainable
development” which tends towards meeting the needs of the
present generation concurrently conserving them for the
future.

▫ With reference to the above perspective, sustainability can be referred

to a firm’s environmental, economic, and social activities that help
them in making their future better.

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Sustainablity

▫ The idea “sustainability” can be defined as “using

resources to meet the current needs without affecting the
capability to meet future generation’s needs”

▫ pollution deterrence material’s recycling and efforts made

to reduce waste Population is increasing day by day and is
recognized as a major cause behind earth’s resources
depletion

▫ Improved technology related to communication and media

makes it easy for everyone to know how to use resources
properly. During recent years organizations are also taking
this issue seriously in fact as one of their business
objectives
Cont.
● Environmental regulations and legislations are being forced by many
countries to make the proscribed use of products, processes and
wastes which can be detrimental to the environment Distinct
organization’s management has also started thinking to make it an
essential policy.

● Recently the number of those firms is increasing which think that

sustainability is also important as much as profitability.

● They have a universal point of view that sustainability helps in

creating long-term shareholder value

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Sustainable
supply chain
 Sustainable supply chain
● The supply chain considers a product from its preliminary stages like
processing of raw materials till the final delivery of the finished
goods to the customer.

● But some issues like product design, manufacturing by-products,

production of by-products during product use, extended product life,
product end-of-life and then its recovery processes, must be
considered under sustainability

● As the new environmental standards came in light, a greater role

waits for the supply chain management in influencing organizational
environmental practice.
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Raw materials
The leather supply
chain

Processing

Leather

Leather products
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Pillars of
sustainablity

Social Economic

Environmental
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Pillars of sustainability

Sustainability occupies the synchronized accomplishment

of environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

• For social sustainability, products should be designed

in a way such that they should satisfy customer’s needs
and wants.

• For economic sustainability, the firms should look

towards gaining maximum profits but resources and
raw materials must be utilized in the best possible way.

• For environmental sustainability, firm should not rely

more on non-renewable whereas available resources
and renewable must be utilized optimum.
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Sustainable
design
What does it mean
 Sustainable design
▫ The sustainable development is based on the principles of
solidarity among all for the preservation of natural resources
provided by nature, with necessary requirements which respect
the proper use of renewable resources, making the best
possible in the application of non-renewable resources,
minimizing amount of waste produced.

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Sustainable design

o process of sustainable design is complex and diffuse

procedure as the conception of the product design,

o since the concern usually responds to a production

economically feasible, environmentally friendly and
socially just.

o sustainable development process of the product ends up

integrating in the fashion system.

o And in this scenario of integrating sustainability into

environmental, economic and socio-cultural level, it can
be understood on the basis of various existing
terminologies: eco-fashion, green fashion, ethical
fashion, slow fashion, among others.
Cont.
● Regardless of the use of terminology, it is a set of attitudes and
values, which aim to promote good social and environmental
practices, include the reduction of production and consumption.

● However, the application of sustainability in fashion does not say

with certainty that the new products will be fully sustainable,
since their production cycle implies somehow an impact, however
minor, in ecological or social system.

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sustainable product design

o In the sustainable product design field,

it’s looking for eco-efficiency as a
strategy to design products and services
with less use of resources and produce
less waste and pollution.

o One of the approaches to eco-efficiency in

eco-design is the integration of theory of
the 3 R's -Reduce, Reuse and Recycle,
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Design for sustainability will incorporate the
following key principles:

o Thinking in systems – deciding how

things relate to their larger system.

o Dematerialization – get more ‘service’

from less product.

o Renewable, natural materials – using

harmless materials and processes.

o biomimicry – work with nature by being

like nature.

o cradle-to-cradle – think of materials

and components as being in a ‘nutrient’
cycle
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Circular economy
 Circular economy
● Manufacture, use and disposal? No, reduce, reuse and recycle.

● The current paradigm of lineal economic model could be coming to

an end and its place will be taken by the circular economy.

● The current model of production and management of resources,

goods and services that seeks to promote short-term consumption is
leading the planet to an unsustainable situation.

● In nature there is no waste or landfill: all elements play a role

continuously and are reused in different stages.

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 What is the circular economy?
● Taking as an example the cyclical nature pattern, circular economy is
presented as a system of resources utilization where reduction,
reuse and recycling of elements prevails:

● minimize production to a bare minimum, and when it's necessary to

use the product, go for the reuse of the elements that can not return to
the environment.

● That is, the circular economy promotes the use of as many

biodegradable materials as possible in the manufacture of products -
biological nutrients- so they can get back to nature without causing
environmental damage at the end of their useful life.
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Cont.
● When it is not possible to use eco-friendly materials -technical
nutrients: electronics, hardware, batteries... - the aim is to facilitate a
simple uncoupling to give them a new life by reintroducing them
into the production cycle and compose a new piece.

● When this is not possible, it will be recycled in a respectful way with

the environment.

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Circular economy
principles
There are ten principles that define
how circular economy should work:
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▫ is the main feature. All the biodegradable

Waste becomes material returns to the nature and the not
a resource
biodegradable is reused.

Second use ▫ Reintroduce in the economic circuit those

products that no longer correspond to the
initial consumers needs.
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▫ reuse certain products or parts of those

Reuse products that still work to elaborate new
artifacts.

Reparation ▫ Reparation is find damage products a

second life.
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▫ Recycle: make use of materials founded in

Recycle waste.

Valorization ▫ Valorization: harness energy from waste

that can’t be recycled.
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▫ circular economy aims to eliminate the

Functionality sale of products in many cases to establish
economy
a system of rental property. When the
product completes its main function
returns to the company, where it is
dismantled for reusing the valid parts.

Energy from ▫ Energy from renewable sources:

renewable sources elimination of fossil fuels to produce the
product, reuse and recycle.
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▫ considers and integrates in its conception

Eco-design the environmental impacts throughout the
life cycle of a product.

Industrial and ▫ Establishment of an industrial

territorial ecology organizational method in a territory
characterized by an optimized
management of stocks and flows of
materials, energy and services.
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Cradle to Cradle
In their 2002 book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We
Make Things, architect William McDonough and chemist
Michael Braungart presented an integration of design and
science that provides enduring benefits for society from
safe materials, water and energy in circular economies and
eliminates the concept of waste.
 Defining cradle to cradle philosophy

▫ In the cradle to cradle model, all materials used in industrial or

commercial processes—such as metals, fibers, dyes—fall into one of
two categories: "technical" or "biological" nutrients.

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Technical nutrient

▫ Are strictly limited to non-toxic, non-harmful

materials that have no negative effects on the natural
environment

▫ They can be used in continuous cycles as the same

product without losing their integrity or quality.

▫ In this manner these materials can be used over and

over again instead of being "downcycled" into lesser
products, ultimately becoming waste.
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Biological Nutrients

▫ Biological Nutrients are organic materials that,

once used, can be disposed of in any natural
environment and decompose into the soil,
providing food for small life forms without
affecting the natural environment.

▫ This is dependent on the ecology of the region;

for example, organic material from one country or
landmass may be harmful to the ecology of
another country or landmass.
Cont.
● Today, products are designed with “built-in obsolescence” to only
last for a short time.

● The purpose of this is to allow or even to encourage the customer to

get rid of it as soon as possible and buy a new item. This is
common in the fashion industry.

● What most customers do not know is that once the product becomes
garbage, it is just the tip of a material iceberg since the product itself
only contains of five per cent of the total raw materials included in
the process of making and delivering it

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Cont.
● Economic growth is the main goal of today’s industrial infrastructure, at
the expense of the world’s health.

● The damage is definite and severe. The world is waiting for

manufacturers or designers to decide that this is a strategy that
can no longer be supported and maintained, the strategy of tragedy

● A key step in the cradle to cradle practice is consequently upcycling

where closed-loop cycles arise from the theoretical possibility of
producing an unlimited number of products from the same resources

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Why is Cradle to
Cradle
important
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Stimulate local
jobs and economy ● The reuse industry generates more
than $14.1 billion in revenue every year,
and an annual payroll of $2.7 billion.

● This provides almost 170,000 jobs

throughout the country, which helps to
generate local income and stimulate
local economies
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● Products that could be reused are often

sent to landfills where they cost society
Save landfill space and take up valuable land.

● Cradle to cradle helps divert resources

from landfills and incinerators into this
industries.

● Choosing to recycle your old clothes

and buying recycled-content clothing,
for instance, helps to clear up 5% of
landfill space.
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● Reusing materials rather than creating

new products from virgin resources
Save energy always save energy and reduce the
climate impact of those products.

● Take recycling glass instead of creating

from new resources.

● Recycling one glass container saves

enough energy to light a 100-watt light
bulb for 4 hours.
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Save resources ● Our forests, mountains, and oceans

needs to be protected from being over-
harvested for their natural resources.

● Reusing helps to accomplish this by

reusing materials that are already part
of the value chain rather than
harvesting new resources.
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Zero waste
Way ahead cradle to cradle
 Defining zero waste

▫ The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production,

consumption, reuse, and recovery of all products, packaging, and
materials, without burning them, and without discharges to land,
water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.

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 Zero waste
● Zero Waste is a philosophy that encourages the redesign
of resource life cycles so that all products are reused.

● The goal is for no trash to be sent to landfills, incinerators, or the

ocean. The process recommended is one similar to the way that
resources are reused in nature.

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Cont.
● Zero Waste refers to waste management and planning approaches
which emphasize waste prevention as opposed to end-of-pipe waste
management.

● It is a whole systems approach that aims for a massive change in the

way materials flow through society, resulting in no waste.

● Zero waste encompasses more than eliminating waste

through recycling and reuse, it focuses on restructuring production and
distribution systems to reduce waste.

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Cont.
● Zero waste is more of a goal or ideal rather than a hard target.

● Zero Waste provides guiding principles for continually working

towards eliminating wastes.

● Advocates say eliminating waste decreases pollution, and can also

reduce costs due to the reduced need for raw materials.

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Zero Waste Hierarchy

of Highest and Best Use
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Refuse – Encourage producers to provide products or
packaging that limit waste or emissions.

Reduce and Return – Set up systems that require producers to take

conserve materials back products and packaging that create wastes or
emissions.

Reduce toxics use – Eliminate toxic chemicals use;

replace them with less toxic or non-toxic alternatives.

Design out wasting – Identify why materials are

discarded and redesign the system to be more efficient
and no longer discard those materials.

Reduce consumption and packaging – Use less;

buy less and with less packaging; avoid disposables;
bring your own.
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• Reuse products.
• Repurpose products for alternative uses (e.g. old doors
made into walls; old photos and scrap metal into art).
Reuse (retain value
• Repair to retain value and usefulness.
and function)
• Refurbish.
• Remanufacture with disassembled parts.
• Dismantle to obtain parts for repairing and maintaining
products still in use.
• Encourage thrift stores, used building materials store,
garage sales, flea markets, and charity collections.
• Encourage or allow licensed recovery of reusable goods
from tipping areas of discards collection and processing
facilities.
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A) Inorganics (little or no carbon)
• Build only “Clean” Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs)
and sort source separated materials at such MRFs.
Recycle discards safely,
efficiently and locally • Recycle all inorganic materials (e.g., soils, metals, glass
and ceramics).
• Downcycling is lower priority (e.g., recycling single-use
products into 1 time uses or making mixed glass into
sand).
• Develop local markets and uses for all recovered
materials, including Resource Recovery – Parks, Residual
Research Centers, and business clusters to reuse, recycle
or compost products and packaging for highest value and
efficiency.
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B. Organics (carbon-based)
Recycle discards safely,
• Edible food to people first; animal feed second; compost
efficiently and locally
or digest the rest, back to land as compost or digest for
fuel depending on where nitrogen is needed most
locally.
• Promote on-site composting by homes and businesses.
• Maintain source separation for highest and best use of
organics.
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• Materials sorting for recyclables and research for

Landfilling is the last
step. design purposes.
• Biological stabilization before burial
• Require insurance to cover post-post-closure repairs.
• Plan systems to be flexible to be adjusted towards
Zero Waste with changes in waste stream as waste is
reduced.
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Forms of
sustainable fashion
 Sustainable fashion
● Sustainable fashion is today a highly debated and increasingly
covered topic in media and at seminars worldwide.

● More and more clothing companies are transforming their business

models and improving their supply chains to reduce overall
environmental impacts, improve social conditions in factories, etc.

● We also see a growing awareness among consumers, especially

younger generations.

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 Cont.
● When we learn about “sustainable fashion”, we soon realize that there
are many forms of (more) sustainable fashion.

● All strategies promoting more environmentally, socially and ethically

conscious production and consumption are important steps towards a
more sustainable industry.

● Green Strategy has identified seven main forms of more sustainable

fashion production and consumption, as seen in the figure below.

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Seven forms of sustainable
fashion

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Ideally, all aspects of the figure above should be
combined for every new product produced. Hence

Forms of sustainable
fashion
1. Each product should first be manufactured on demand or
custom-made (No. 1)
2. With high quality and timeless design(No. 2)
3. in an environmentally friendly manner (No. 3)
4. with consideration to various ethical aspects (No. 4)
5. Thereafter, it should be used long and well through good
care, repair and perhaps redesign (No. 5)
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6. When the product is no longer desired, it should be handed
in to a secondhand shop, donated to charity or handed over to
friends, relatives or perhaps a swap-shop, to prolong its active
Forms of sustainable
fashion life (No. 6 and 7).

7. When the product is completely worn out, it should be

returned to a collection point for recycling of the material,
which can hence be reused in the manufacturing of new
products.

8. Ideally, instead of buying newly produced clothes, one

should consider renting, borrowing or swapping clothes (No.
6), or to buy secondhand or vintage (No. 7).
Thanks!
Any questions?
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biniko139@gmail.com

+251921243999

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