ELeather has announced it has received certification from the Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) by Control Union Certifications.

The certification gives assurance to customers that the company’s latest materials contain a significant portion of recycled leather.

The RCS is used as a chain of custody to track recycled raw materials through the supply chain and is an independent external validation of the manufacturer’s claims. It verifies the presence, sources and amount of recycled material in a final product.

ELeather, which recently entered into a new partnership with Wizz Air to dress 32,000 seats across the carrier’s 146 new Airbus aircraft, says its materials have always been developed and manufactured with the aim to utilise what the leather industry classes as ‘offcuts’ usually ending up in landfill sites. According to the company, a significant amount of a leather hide is often discarded, amounting to thousands of tonnes of waste every year.

ELeather’s CEO John Kennedy commented: “Since our engineered leather production began in 2007, we have recycled over 7,000 tonnes of leather waste – that’s the weight of 16 Boeing 747s.

“Over the last year or two, we have seen a large increase in the number of leading brands choosing to work with us, as they see the very close alignment of our sustainability roadmap to theirs.  Our focus on being data-driven, authentic and transparent resonates well with their values, and the ever-increasing expectations of their customers.”

ELeather says the current certificate details the material composition of the company’s latest material developments for consumer and lifestyle markets. For more information on ELeather’s commitment to the environment, see the company’s sustainability page.