LITE Leather

The LITE Leather (Low Impact to Environment Leather) label is a certificate that can be attached to any product that is manufactured with especially low energy consumption and water usage. The certification is based on a product's CO₂ footprint, which involves documenting the carbon dioxide emissions for each square meter of leather produced. LITE standards are based on calculations by the LWG (Leather Working Group) for average energy and water consumption in the industry — LITE products are produced with roughly 35% less energy and 50% less water. To accelerate the process of making leather production environmentally sound, this project is being funded by the German Investment Corporation (DEG) with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Renowned manufacturers including Timberland, New Balance, Hush Puppies, Reef, or Keen Footwear market shoes using LITE leather. The LITE leather label was initialized by the German-Sino leather producer ISA TanTec, who have three tanneries in Saigon, Vietnam, Heshan, China, and the newly opened one in Mississippi, USA. LITE is a trademark of ISA Tantec, a privately owned German company in Asia.