LeatherTrace Bangladesh: Traceable and circular leather production in Bangladesh

Last updated on 21 September 2025

Background Information

The leather sector in Bangladesh is an important contributor to the national economy and the country’s second-largest source of foreign exchange. However, the industry is facing the significant challenge of reduced exports of finished leather products resulting from ongoing concerns about the environmental impacts associated with leather production. This project seeks to address these issues by developing and piloting a digitised traceability and environmental footprint system that will assist tanneries in Bangladesh to transition to more sustainable methods of production in their manufacturing processes and thereby reduce the environmental pollution which results from those processes. In developing and piloting the above-mentioned systems, the project will also aim to enhance environmental and social accountability within the tannery sector and ensure compliance with global pollution and emissions reduction standards.

A further aim of the project is to align the production practices of tanneries with internationally accredited standards such as those set out by the Leather Working Group (LWG) and Sustainable Leather Foundation (SLF). In achieving this, the project consortium will leverage its extensive links with both the LWG and SLF and engage key stakeholders in the tannery sector, exporters, government bodies, and NGOs. To ensure tanneries and other stakeholders are well-positioned to use the traceability and environmental footprint systems, the project team will deliver a series of knowledge exchange sessions over the duration of the life of the project to provide the necessary information and skills development that stakeholders will need to use the systems effectively. The project’s impact will include reduced emissions and pollutants, adherence to international benchmarks, and the development of a sustainable model for leather that can be relied upon well into the future by the sector. To secure the long-term gains of the project, the project team will work with government policymakers in Bangladesh to propose a comprehensive policy framework for the tannery sector which will provide a strong policy support to facilitate and incentivise the uptake, financing and use of the traceability system by the tannery sector.

To achieve the project aims, the project team will apply an implementation strategy which encompasses the following four core components:

Electronic Traceability System (e-traceability): The development of the electronic traceability system will comprise mobile and web-based application with QR codes, which will allow for the tracing of hides from sourcing to finished goods, ensuring that each step adheres to environmental and social standards. The e-traceability system will be piloted within a tannery cluster in Bangladesh, with potential expansion to East Africa.
Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA): Leveraging the Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production (RECP) model, the EIA will inform the enhancement of environmental management policies, aiming for significant pollutant minimisation and resource optimisation. The project will use a number of environmental indicators in areas such as water quality, waste management and air quality to measure the project’s impact on the environment. In addition, the project will track the types and quantities of chemicals used in the tannery cluster, focusing on the reduction of hazardous chemical use and supporting the transition to safer and more sustainable alternatives.
Circular Economy Model: By identifying innovative waste processing and management approaches, the project aims to pilot a business model that encapsulates the principles of a circular economy, reducing waste and fostering resource recirculation within the industry.
Sustainable Financing: Develop a compelling business case for low-impact, traceable leather production, culminating in robust policy recommendations and an actionable financing model for industry-wide adoption.

Updates

The project team has made significant progress across multiple project objectives.

Traceability and Digital Tools

A blueprint for a digital traceability system has been developed, reviewed by key stakeholders, and advanced through trials with supply chain actors (in-field). A three-hour dry-run of the traceability system was held on 9 April 2025 with participation from SLF, SERA, UOH, Idea Tree, and external stakeholders. The session validated key system features, including encrypted authentication, German server hosting, bilingual mobile support, and scalability for up to 1.75 million records. Core modules (Farm, Farmer, Slaughterhouse, Hide Supplier) were reviewed, and data from approximately 400 tanneries has already been collected. SERA committed to system revisions, updated technical documentation, and a revised version ahead of deployment and field trials. In addition to these system trials, the team also conducted real-time testing activities with tanneries in Tanguil, which included visiting various collection centres (Pakutia Leather Hut and Gudams) and nearby slaughterhouses.

It is anticipated that by the end of the year, partner organisations will begin providing input into an application (web/API-based) that will enable efficient “gate-to-gate” traceability, from raw hide sourcing to finished product, paving the way for a fully digital, scalable traceability solution, with future iterations including a dedicated mobile app.

In addition to the traceability tool, the team developed a prototype Carbon Calculator toolkit to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the leather sector to get started with understanding, measuring, and reporting their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The calculator is designed to be straightforward and practical, focusing on the most common sources of emissions (Scope 1, Scope 2, and key Scope 3 categories). It allows organisations to quickly input activity data, automatically calculate emissions, and generate charts to help visualise results. This prototype was workshopped with key stakeholders in Dhaka in July during a demonstration workshop to gather input and feedback on this initial version. These interactions with local stakeholders will be essential to finalise the scope and measurement units for the Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) (to be developed over the next 6 months), identify any potential data gaps, and develop a comprehensive data collection plan.

Sustainable Leather Foundation

A significant project milestone was reached with 14 partner factories now officially registered on the SLF platform through the LeatherTrace initiative. Each factory now has its own SLF dashboard, which highlights their commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards to a global audience. This achievement not only reinforces their sustainability credentials but also unlocks new opportunities for ethical and responsible business growth.

Stakeholder Engagement

The success of the project and adoption of the digital tools rely on inclusive stakeholder engagement. The project team therefore conducts regular visits across Savar, Hazaribagh, and Tangail to engage tanneries, manufacturers, and other value chain actors. Key observations and data are documented for integration into the traceability system. In Savar, the team toured the Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) facility and met with management, noting significant operational improvements despite recent negative media reports. Regional livestock officers were engaged to explore potential traceability data, and visits to a new slaughterhouse and a hide sourcing hub informed future infrastructure planning and system design, including the ability to capture handwritten records.

In addition to these on-the-ground industry visits, the team has conducted three industry-wide workshops in July 2025, designed to contribute directly to three key project outputs:

1. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
An industry-wide LCA workshop was convened, bringing together 16 partner organisations alongside three additional national leather associations—the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), the Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLFEA), and the Leather and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB). The workshop also engaged academics from the Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology (ILET), University of Dhaka, as well as the President and General Secretary of the Leather Engineers and Technologists Society of Bangladesh (LETS’B), fostering cross-sector collaboration and knowledge sharing.

2. Carbon Calculator
A workshop was held at the Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology (ILET), University of Dhaka, to demonstrate the Carbon Calculator to key stakeholders. Bringing together students, faculty, and project partners, the session provided a hands-on opportunity to explore practical approaches for measuring and managing carbon emissions in leather production. Participants actively engaged with the tool and contributed valuable feedback for its refinement.

3. Policy Recommendations
The team arranged a very well attended policy workshop with key industry associations, government departments, academic and industry actors in Dhaka in July 2025. Key stakeholders from across the sector, including 16 leather-related companies from the project cluster and representatives from the Government of Bangladesh, joined the session. It provided an excellent platform to introduce the project, share progress updates, and emphasise the importance of traceability for both global compliance and building a more sustainable future for Bangladesh’s leather industry. The session featured a lively panel discussion with policy experts, followed by an interactive roundtable where attendees offered practical recommendations to advance the agenda.