Leather Working Group (LWG)

The Leather Working Group (LWG) is a not-for-profit membership organization that has developed an environmental audit protocol specifically for the leather manufacturing industry. It was established to improve the environmental stewardship practices of the leather industry through alignment of assessment standards and the provision of benchmarking tools.

The LWG audit protocol assesses leather manufacturers (tanneries) across key environmental areas including energy and water usage, waste management, chemical management, air and noise emissions, and traceability. Based on the audit score, tanneries are awarded a Gold, Silver, or Bronze rating.

These ratings are used by major global brands including Nike, Adidas, LVMH, H&M, and automotive manufacturers as a key criterion for responsible leather sourcing decisions.

Each scored section gets a percentage. The thresholds are:

The final rating is the lowest rating achieved in any critical section, so a tannery that scores Gold in most sections but Silver in effluent treatment is rated Silver. Some questions are threshold questions that cap the rating regardless of the section score. A facility below the Audited threshold does not pass.

The audit checks how much of your incoming hides and skins can be traced back to their origin, and how. Traceability is scored separately from the medal rating at present, but LWG has said it will become a critical section in a future version of the standard.

• Physically marked to a slaughterhouse: weighted 100%.
• Documented to a slaughterhouse: 80%.
• Traced to a group of slaughterhouses: 70%.
• Traced to a region or collection point: 60%.

Tanneries buying from many small collectors usually start with regional traceability, then improve supplier records batch by batch.

Units that carry out part of the process for a certified leather manufacturer, for example finishing or splitting on job work, are audited under LWG’s subcontractor route. A subcontractor that passes is listed as Audited; medal ratings are reserved for leather manufacturers. If your buyer’s certified tannery sends work to you, it may need your audit to keep its own rating.

While LWG certification is not a government regulation, it has become a de facto commercial requirement in the leather industry. Major global brands and retailers now mandate LWG-rated leather sourcing as part of their corporate sustainability commitments.

Without LWG certification, tanneries risk losing access to premium international buyers and being excluded from global supply chains.

LWG certification is the result of an audit against the LWG Leather Manufacturer Standard, run by the Leather Working Group, a not-for-profit body of brands, tanneries, chemical suppliers and others. The current version of the standard covers 17 sections, from operating permits, energy, water and effluent treatment to chemical management, restricted substances, traceability and social audit.

Brands in footwear, apparel, furniture and automotive interiors use the rating to choose suppliers, so Indian tanneries in Kanpur, Chennai, Ambur, Kolkata and Jalandhar that export to them are usually asked for it. See also our guide to starting a leather business in India and leather and footwear testing.

1. Confirm the right protocol: leather manufacturer, commissioning manufacturer, subcontractor or trader.
2. Gap assessment against every section, using your last 12 months of data.
3. Close the gaps: permits, ETP records, chemical inventory and restricted substances list testing, energy and water metering, traceability records.
4. Collect the production and environmental data the auditor will ask for.
5. Mock audit and corrections.
6. Schedule the audit with an LWG-approved auditor and support you on the day.

Most tanneries need two to six months to prepare, depending on their gaps, then a few weeks for the audit and the report. The cost has three parts: LWG membership, the audit fee charged by the LWG-approved audit body (including auditor travel), and whatever upgrades your gap assessment shows, such as metering or ETP improvements. We quote our own support separately after the gap assessment.