Chapter 2 — full chapter
2.1.3 Leather waste fibres for regenerated composites
Leather manufacturing generates cutting scraps and processing residues that can be recovered instead of discarded. These leather fibres can be shredded and combined with binders to produce regenerated leather composites for accessories, footwear, upholstery, bags or other applications (European Commission, 2026). However, the environmental performance of regenerated leather composites depends on the type of binder used, the amount of recycled content, durability, repairability and possible future recovery route (European Commission, 2026; CORDIS, 2018).
Figure 2.1.Origins and Flows of recovered feedstocks. Credit: FashionKIC, 2026