Sam Setter's 'Pills' For readers who need some wry medicinal humour
The leather industry is unfairly targeted by the green lobby, says Sam Setter, but the industry should do more to help itself.
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I mean, how stupid are we???!!! Various organisations that claim to represent the leather industry aim, in their words, to save the earth, forcing responsibilities upon this industry that it doesn’t have, like deforestation, production of CO² and so forth. As if we, the leather industry, can even play a minimum role in the salvation of the earth, when the major polluters are China, India and the United States. Europe’s sustainability performance improved by 0,7% last year, a joke compared to the increase of pollution by the big three polluters during the same year. We save nothing. We aren’t even slowing down the increase in pollution. This 0.7% probably doesn’t cover the enormous pollution created by this year’s Oscar nomination event where the so-called VIPs arrived from all over the world by private plane, limousines accompanied by their security staff. We have seen the ridiculous poses of the various actors and actresses showing off their costumes and dresses so ‘proudly designed’ and promoted by brands, that negotiate the last penny from under our nails when they buy our leather and make unrealistic demands in terms of ESG¹ for their own public image. The same brands that do not shy away from exploiting labour as long as they can’t be blamed directly. Yes, we need to improve our ESG performance as a sustainable industry. And we are doing our best, much more and much better than many that criticise us. We are the accusers, not the accused!
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¹ESG = Environmental, Social & Governance – Ed.
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