Open Letter to European Fashion Industry

The sustainability of your leather supply chain is under attack.  
You have four weeks to defend it.

On 4 May 2026, the European Commission published a proposal to remove leather from the scope of the EU Deforestation Regulation - a proposal that seems more driven by industry lobbying than scientific evidence. The Commission's own staff working document, published alongside the proposal, shows that leather from South America carries one of the highest deforestation footprints of any commodity assessed and estimates that keeping leather within the regulation's scope could have generated up to almost €2 billion per year in environmental benefits.

Keeping leather in the EUDR is needed to ensure EU consumers are not contributing to deforestation and human rights abuses through their leather purchases. Major fashion and automotive companies have committed to sourcing deforestation free leather and many are investing to improve their traceability efforts. The regulation provides the framework needed to ensure accountability across the entire supply chain.  The draft Delegated Act is open for public feedback until 1 June 2026. 

The exclusion of leather from the deforestation rules matters for European fashion brands - it will directly impact the sustainability of their leather supply chains. Yet fashion brands have been noticeably absent from the debate. 

That's why ClientEarth and NGO partners have published this open letter to European fashion brands calling on them to join the discussion and contribute to the Commission's public consultation on this important proposal. 

Read also:

• Joint NGO briefing highlighting the evidence supporting leather's continued inclusion.
• Letter from 26 NGOs and the largest Indigenous network in Brazil calling on the Commission to maintain leather products within the scope of the EUDR.