The leather industry’s main representative body in the European Union, COTANCE, has submitted its response to the European Commission’s Call for Evidence on the forthcoming Biotech Act II, urging policymakers to recognise leather as an established bio-based and circular value chain.
In its submission to the European Commission, COTANCE said the European leather sector is already closely integrated with industrial biotechnology and should be properly reflected in EU bioeconomy policy frameworks.
The organisation said leather is inherently bio-based, derived from animal hides and skins that are unavoidable by-products of the meat and dairy sectors. It added that the tanning industry converts this residual biomass into durable materials, supporting resource efficiency, waste prevention and long-term value creation.
COTANCE highlighted that around 8 million tonnes of hides and skins are recovered globally each year, arguing that without this upcycling activity the material would become waste with significant environmental impacts. It also pointed to leather’s durability, repairability and biodegradability as key circularity characteristics.
The association said leather has been largely absent from previous EU bioeconomy strategies and called for this to be addressed in Biotech Act II. It urged equal recognition of established bio-based value chains alongside emerging technologies and for technology-neutral policy design.
COTANCE also stressed the importance of full life-cycle assessment in sustainability policy, warning that simplified metrics can disadvantage long-life materials and distort comparisons.
On innovation, it noted that the leather sector offers multiple opportunities for industrial biotechnology, including the valorisation of by-products into collagen, gelatine and peptides, as well as bio-based processing agents and improved effluent treatment systems.
The association concluded that Biotech Act II should better integrate established bio-based industries into Europe’s biotechnology strategy to support competitiveness, sustainability and industrial resilience.
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