“There is a new sheriff in town, would say an old Western film”. In Germany, VDL (the association that represents the nation’s tanning industry) now has the power to file against those misusing the word leather. That means that all the brands and manufacturers selling goods made with alternative materials (most of them plastic-based), but that label them as leather with prefixes such as “vegan” or “eco”, can now prosecuted.
Those misusing the term leather
Cotance (The Confederation of National Associations of Tanners and Dressers of the European Community) communicated the news. VDL is now among the qualified association that, according to German laws of unfair competition (Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb), can prosecute companies that falsely advertise their materials as leather. It’s good news. Because, as pointed out by Cotance, VDL’s capacity offers the possibility of bringing clarity on the German market. The true victims of these misleading labels (prohibited in Italy with the so-called Decreto Pelle) aren’t the tanneries that need to compete on their work, but rather end consumers, as they are misled with interesting, yet inappropriate tags. They, in fact, buy a product thinking it has certain qualities (those of leather), while in the end, it doesn’t possess them.
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