COTANCE complains against the adoption by the EU of a penalising descriptor for
Leather on Textile clothing labels
The representatives of the European Leather Industry meeting in Council in Rome regret the approval of the EU Regulation on Textile Names and Labelling of Textile products by the European Parliament last 15 May 2011. That vote opens the way to a compulsory labelling for leather trims on clothing to be sold in the EU that penalises leather with a denigrating descriptor.
The presence of leather as a trim in a textile clothing will have to be indicated with the mention “Contains non-textile parts of animal originâ€.
Such a mention denies the material “Leather†the right to be called by its name! Describing leather by other than its name is likely to cause confusion and dis-educate consumers to the detriment of the sector’s cultural and industrial heritage.
Allergic sufferers – the alleged beneficiaries of the rule - are not served by a mention that does not specifically address the cause of their problems while the adopted message associates a negative image to a number of products of animal origin that have a well gained legitimacy. It is highly concerning that the affected sectors have not been consulted at all by public authorities and that the economic and social consequences on supply chains have not been assessed.
COTANCE expressed its objections to the EP amendments implementing this provision in a letter to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the EU Council Presidency in March 2010. COTANCE regrets that its views have been simply ignored and its concerns unanswered.
The European Leather industry calls on the EU institutions to reconsider the implementation of this particular label indication and to finally develop the much-expected Regulation of Leather Terms and Labelling of Leather articles that the leather sector and European consumers deserve.
Rome, 16 June 2011
