The Austrian shoe label Paul Green GmbH has been a member of the Leather Working Group (LWG) since December 2023.
The LWG is a global, non-profit, multi-stakeholder organization focused on environmental and social sustainability standards in the leather value chain. Through membership, the shoe manufacturer wants to underline its “commitment to transparent and sustainable practices,” it said in a statement on Monday.
“When selecting our leather, we pay close attention to its origin. Today 80 percent already comes from LWG-certified tanneries. By testing our leather for chemical ingredients every six months, we ensure that our products are free of harmful chemicals. Transparency in the supply chain is crucial to further minimize our ecological footprint,” says Barbara Aichinger, member of the Paul Green management team.
The Salzburg-based company sells its women’s shoes in Europe, the USA, Japan and Australia and employs around 500 people in Austria and Croatia.
The LWG was founded in 2005 and says it now includes over 2,000 stakeholders from various areas of the value chain in more than 60 countries. The member companies include the German sporting goods manufacturer Adidas, the British shoe manufacturer Dr.Martens, the fashion group Hugo Boss and the Swedish label Acne Studios. The organization “promotes practices and standards to ensure that leather products are produced ethically, ecologically and with high quality,” the statement said. Leather traders and tanneries can be certified according to LWG standards.