The sixth edition of the Sustainable Leather Forum, an event organised by Alliance France Cuir (AFC, the French leather alliance, formerly Conseil national du cuir) will begin on September 9 at the Maison de la Chimie venue in Paris, and will continue with online business meetings the following day.

The Sustainable Leather Forum will feature five round-table debates on specific themes, ranging from changes in breeding practices and issues linked to traceability and deforestation, to the environmental footprint of leather, the French tanning and tawing industry, and the questions raised by the use of plastics in fashion and sport.

Also, a new CSR standard for the French leather goods industry will be presented at the event. “Studies carried out in partnership with experts, including CTC, have enabled to us to draw up a new frame of reference that will bolster and accelerate the diffusion of CSR [practices],” said AFC.

Among the speakers on the first day, executives from Hermès Cuirs Précieux, Hermès Maroquinerie Sellerie, Tanneries Roux (owned by LVMH Métiers d’Art), Mégisserie de La Molière, APC, Gainerie 91, Zei-World, REgn and Polyvia. Among the organisations represented, the Skins & Leather Traders Association (ICHSLTA), World Wildlife Fund, International Trade Centre, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and various French leather industry associations.

Also among the speakers, Delphine Neumeister, deputy head of the community and livestock farming division at animal breeding institute IDELE (Institut de l’Elevage), and Rachel Kolbe Semhoun, head of sustainable sourcing and nature initiatives at Kering. In the afternoon, alongside the round-table debates, various start-ups will be pitching their innovations, while essayist Raphaël Enthoven will speak at a dinner for paying guests.

The Sustainable Leather Forum is scheduled only a few weeks after AFC elected a new president, Christophe Dehard, who replaced Frank Boehly.

AFC groups together the 21 industry associations operating across the entire French leather and hides sector, representing 12,800 companies and accounting for 133,000 jobs. France is the world’s third-largest exporter of leather and hides, and of leather goods. Last year, the French sector’s exports grew by 6% in value to €19 billion.