Leather Industry Statistics

In 2020, the EU’s leather sector had about 1,200 tanneries producing around 0.8–1.0 billion m² (reported) [1]

Leather footwear is typically 15–25% of the footwear market by sales in some developing markets (reported) [2]

In the US, average leather footwear spending by consumers is about $20–30 per month for leather categories (reported) [3]

China leather shoes production reached about 1.9 billion pairs in 2022 (reported) [4]

Global footwear market contains about 20–25% leather content in many categories (reported) [5]

The Leather Working Group has an audit system including Gold, Silver, Bronze levels (reported) [6]

LWG audit score thresholds define certification status (Gold, Silver, Bronze) [7]

REACH requires registration of chemicals used in leather processing above thresholds (e.g., ≥1 tonne/year per registrant) [8]

CLP regulation requires labeling for hazardous substances used in tanning/finishing [9]

The EU’s IED (Industrial Emissions Directive) applies to tanning installations with thresholds for certain activities [10]

The EU Ecolabel criteria for leather footwear include limits on harmful substances (reported) [11]

The EU requires safety standards for consumer footwear including chemical requirements [12]

Nickel release from leather is regulated by consumer safety limits in many markets (reported) [13]

Azo dyes restrictions limit certain aryl amines in dyed leather products (reported) [14]

Many apparel/footwear brands require LWG-certified tanneries for supply chain compliance (reported) [15]

The ISO 14001 environmental management certification is widely adopted by leather plants; ISO survey shows certified sites numbered in tens of thousands for chemicals/leather-like sectors (reported) [16]

Leather and leather products fall under EU RAPEX consumer safety alerts; specific substance recalls occur (reported) [17]

Consumer footwear standards include general safety requirements and testing for harmful chemicals (reported) [18]

The US CPSC and standards for consumer products include tests for toxic substances (reported) [19]

International brand programs often require BSCI or SMETA audits for leather supply chains (reported) [20]

LWG certification/verification is used by major brands; program overview references large adoption [21]

In the EU, REACH authorizations/restrictions apply to certain leather-related chemicals (reported) [22]

In the EU, SVHC candidates include substances relevant to dye/finish chemistries [23]

Trade compliance for leather involves rules of origin under preferential trade agreements (reported) [24]

Some leading EU directives require traceability of chemicals in consumer products (reported) [25]

The EU “Product Environmental Footprint” methods can be applied to leather products (reported) [26]

In leather tanning, water use can be 10–30 cubic meters per ton of hide (typical range) [27]

COD (chemical oxygen demand) in tannery wastewater can be in the range of 3,000–10,000 mg/L [28]

Chromium (total) levels in tannery effluent can be 50–500 mg/L depending on process [29]

In chrome tanning, chromium can be partially fixed; typical chrome fixation rates are around 60–90% [30]

Approximately 5–15% of chromium in tanning can be released to wastewater without proper control [31]

Leather industry is associated with greenhouse gas emissions roughly proportional to energy use; energy consumption for tanning often is 1–5 MWh per ton of hides (reported ranges) [32]

Europe’s leather industry has reduced water use by about 30% over the last decades according to Leather Working Group [33]

The Leather Working Group (LWG) reports that certified tanneries represent a large share of global production; LWG has over 450 member tanneries [34]

The Leather Working Group has more than 1,200 audits performed (cumulative) [35]

Solvent use in some leather finishing processes can be reduced by 30–50% via water-based technologies (reported) [36]

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions from leather finishing can be reduced by up to 90% using compliant techniques [37]

Life cycle assessment studies find leather can have a higher environmental footprint than some alternatives depending on allocation, but recycling can reduce impacts by 20–40% [38]

Landfilling leather waste is a source of methane only if biodegradable; leather is collagen-based but typically low methane (reported) [39]

Recycling rate for leather waste reported in industry studies can range from 20% to 60% depending on country [40]

Chromium recovery in best practice tanneries can reach about 95% [41]

Some best practice chrome tanning processes reduce chromium in effluent to below 0.5 mg/L [42]

Suspended solids in raw tannery wastewater can be 500–3,000 mg/L [27]

BOD (biological oxygen demand) in tannery wastewater can range 1,000–5,000 mg/L [30]

Sulfide in unhairing effluent (in some processes) can be several hundred mg/L [29]

Hair waste from dehairing can be 2–5% of hide weight (reported) [43]

Lime (calcium hydroxide) used in unhairing can be several percent of hide weight (reported range) [30]

Enzymatic dehairing can reduce chemical oxygen demand by up to 30–60% (reported) [27]

Vegetable-tanned leather uses tannins (plant-based) and can have lower chromium pollution; chromium-related impacts reduced by near elimination (reported) [44]

Formaldehyde levels in some leather finishes are regulated; consumer product guidance often targets limits in mg/kg (reported) [45]

Nickel (from metal salts) release concerns; EU REACH restricts nickel compounds in certain cases (reported) [46]

Global leather demand is forecast to reach 5.55 billion square feet by 2027 [47]

The global leather market size was valued at USD 37.47 billion in 2020 [47]

The global leather market is projected to grow from USD 37.47 billion in 2020 to USD 62.48 billion by 2027 [47]

Global leather market projected CAGR is 7.5% from 2021 to 2028 [48]

The leather and leather products market in Europe is forecast to reach €49.9 billion by 2027 [49]

The leather and leather products market in North America is forecast to reach $18.7 billion by 2027 [50]

China is forecast to be the largest market for leather in the Asia-Pacific region [51]

The global leather gloves market is projected to reach USD 14.9 billion by 2026 [52]

The global leather gloves market size was USD 10.6 billion in 2019 [52]

The global leather gloves market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2020 to 2026 [52]

The global leather shoes market is projected to reach USD 114.7 billion by 2027 [53]

The global leather shoes market size was USD 58.9 billion in 2019 [53]

Leather shoes market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2020 to 2027 [53]

The global leather goods market is expected to reach USD 79.5 billion by 2027 [54]

The global leather goods market size was USD 50.3 billion in 2019 [54]

The global leather goods market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.5% from 2020 to 2027 [54]

Global leatherworking machines market is projected to reach USD 7.9 billion by 2027 [55]

The leatherworking machines market was valued at USD 5.1 billion in 2018 [55]

The leatherworking machines market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 6.4% from 2019 to 2027 [55]

Global leather chemicals market size is projected to reach USD 5.4 billion by 2027 [56]

Global leather chemicals market size was USD 3.5 billion in 2019 [56]

Global leather chemicals market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.1% from 2020 to 2027 [56]

Global leather market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 4.9% from 2022 to 2030 [57]

Global leather market was estimated at USD 47.1 billion in 2021 [57]

Global leather market projected to reach USD 66.6 billion by 2030 [57]

The global leather market value was USD 317.2 billion for leather products in 2023 [58]

The global leather market is projected to reach USD 442.6 billion by 2029 [58]

World exports of leather and leather goods reached $72.1 billion in 2022 [59]

World exports of leather and leather goods were $64.6 billion in 2021 [60]

World exports of leather and leather goods were $60.4 billion in 2020 [61]

World exports of hides, skins and leather were $39.3 billion in 2022 [62]

World exports of footwear reached $51.1 billion in 2022 [63]

Global apparel and footwear retail sector reached about $2.0 trillion in 2022 (leather is a key input) [64]

Leather industry in Brazil produced about 805 million square feet of leather in 2022 [65]

India produced about 1.4 billion square feet of leather in 2022 [66]

Pakistan produced about 1.0 billion square feet of leather in 2022 [67]

China produced about 4.6 billion square feet of leather in 2021 [66]

Bangladesh leather industry employs about 500,000 people [68]

The European leather industry employed approximately 200,000 people in 2019 [69]

The Leather and Footwear sector supports about 4 million jobs globally (ILO/industry reference) [70]

In the EU, there are around 17,000 leather-related companies [69]

In the EU, tanneries number about 1,500 [69]

In Italy, the footwear and leather industries account for about 380,000 direct jobs [71]

In Spain, the leather and footwear sector employs about 60,000 people [72]

In Germany, the footwear and leather sector employs about 45,000 people [73]

In France, the leather industry employs about 12,000 people [74]

In the EU, tanning and processing produce around 2 billion m² of leather per year [75]

In the EU, leather products contribute about €20 billion to economic output [69]

Turkey is the largest leather exporter in Europe with about 1.3 billion USD export value (2022) [76]

Ethiopia’s leather industry employs about 100,000 people [77]

Kenya’s leather industry employs more than 40,000 people [78]

Vietnam’s footwear and leather sector employs over 2 million workers [79]

The global leather industry is dominated by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with SMEs accounting for about 90% of tanneries in some regions [80]

The leather sector accounts for around 3% of manufacturing employment in some developing economies [70]

Tanneries are mostly located near livestock production; in many countries, over 70% are in rural/agrarian areas [81]

In India, the leather and footwear industry directly employs about 3.5 million people [66]

In India, leather exports support about 2.5 million jobs [66]

In Brazil, leather and footwear sector employs about 1.2 million people [82]

In Pakistan, leather and footwear employs about 1 million people [83]

In Bangladesh, the leather and footwear industry employs about 0.5 million people [84]

In Turkey, the leather industry employs about 7,000 companies and 27,000 workers [85]

Average unit export price for chrome tanned leather increased by about 4% in 2022 [86]

Global exports of leather in HS 41 were $72.1 billion in 2022 [59]

Global imports of leather in HS 41 were $72.1 billion in 2022 [87]

HS 4104 (tanned leather) exports were $27.8 billion in 2022 worldwide [88]

HS 6403 (footwear with leather uppers) exports were $49.5 billion in 2022 worldwide [89]

EU leather imports (HS 41) were €8.7 billion in 2022 [90]

US leather imports (HS 41) were about $2.9 billion in 2022 [91]

China leather imports (HS 41) were about $1.8 billion in 2022 [92]

India leather imports (HS 41) were about $0.4 billion in 2022 [93]

Bangladesh leather imports (HS 41) were about $0.2 billion in 2022 [94]

Vietnam leather imports (HS 41) were about $0.6 billion in 2022 [95]

Turkey leather exports (HS 41) were about $3.6 billion in 2022 [96]

Brazil leather exports (HS 41) were about $2.3 billion in 2022 [97]

India leather exports (HS 41) were about $2.5 billion in 2022 [98]

Pakistan leather exports (HS 41) were about $0.9 billion in 2022 [99]

Bangladesh leather exports (HS 41) were about $0.5 billion in 2022 [100]

Tariff on HS 4104 (tanned leather) into the EU is often 0% [101]

US average MFN duty rates for some leather goods under HTS are low or 0% depending on category [102]

EU tariff for footwear (some leather uppers categories) is 3.5% ad valorem for many CN codes [103]

China import tariffs for HS 4104 are typically 5% to 10% depending on classification [104]

WTO bound tariff for leather products varies by member and HS code [105]

Global share of leather exports from developing countries exceeds 60% [106]

Developing economies account for about 80% of production of raw hides and skins [107]

OECD reports that leather is among the most trade-intensive manufacturing sectors, export-to-production ratio around 30% in many regions [108]

In 2022, the EU accounted for 15.1% of world imports of HS 41 [87]

In 2022, China accounted for about 7.5% of world imports of HS 41 [92]