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Leather Certifications and Accreditations you should know about

What are the most important accreditations and certification in the leather tanning industry and what areas do they cover?

🌿 1. Leather Working Group (LWG) Certification

Focus: Environmental compliance and sustainable manufacturing practices in tanneries. Includes water/energy usage, waste management, chemical handling and traceability.

Global Reach: Widely adopted by global brands and tanneries, with audits conducted in over 100 countries .

Rating System: Awards: Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals based on audit scores with Gold representing the highest environmental standards.

Limitations: Does not cover social audits or aspects of animal welfare.

🌍 3. Sustainable Leather Foundation (SLF)

Focus: Holistic sustainability across environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) criteria. Includes traceability, ethical labor practices, and circular economy initiatives.

Transparency Dashboard™: Provides real-time sustainability ratings for supply chain stakeholders.

Gold Rating: The highest recognition for exceptional performance in sustainability and ethics.

🐮 2. OEKO-TEX® Leather Standard

Focus: Testing leather for harmful substances (e.g. heavy metals and allergens) to ensure product safety for consumers.

Coverage: Applies to all production stages, from raw materials to finished products, with a modular certification system.

Consumer Trust: Often used for leather goods with skin contact (e.g. apparel, accessories and furniture).

🏭 4. ISO Certifications


ISO 14001: Focuses on environmental management systems (EMS), helping tanneries reduce waste, energy use, and pollution.

ISO 9001: Ensures quality management systems (QMS) for consistent product quality and customer satisfaction.

Global Relevance: Recognised across industries and often required by international buyers.

🐮 5. Blue Angel for Leather

The Blue Angel accreditation is a rigorous, science-backed label that signifies leadership in environmental and health protection. For leather products it ensures low emissions, chemical safety, and sustainability from production to disposal. While it has limitations in social accountability, it remains a gold standard for eco-conscious consumers and brands.

Focus: Certifies low-emission upholstery leather that minimises health and environmental impacts throughout its lifecycle.

Crest Leather’s accreditations 

We take our accreditations seriously and are committed to stringent quality and environmental standards. Find out more about the certifications we hold here.