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The leather industry plays a vital role in the economies of both Pakistan and Bangladesh. In Pakistan, leather is the third-largest export sector, contributing approximately 4% to GDP. In Bangladesh, the sector is the second-largest source of foreign exchange and a livelihood for over a million people. Despite its economic significance, the industry faces critical challenges related to environmental sustainability, ethical sourcing, and compliance with evolving global trade regulations.
One of the major issues in the leather supply chain is the lack of traceability and transparency—from raw material sourcing to finished goods. This opacity makes it difficult to verify sustainable and responsible practices, creating compliance risks for businesses. With increasing global scrutiny, especially from regulations like the Regulation on Deforestation-free Products of the European Union (Regulation (EU) 2023/1115) (EUDR) and other environmental and ethical sourcing requirements, the pressure on leather-producing countries to ensure traceability and responsible sourcing is greater than ever.
This webinar brings together experts and industry stakeholders to examine the challenges and explore potential solutions for improving transparency in the leather industry, with a particular focus on Pakistan and Bangladesh through insights from two projects supported by the Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution (SMEP) programme. Transparency can be enhanced by improving traceability along the leather value chain, from where animals are raised to slaughterhouses and tanneries, enabling risk identification, mitigation, verification, and potential certification.
Funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the United Kingdom (FCDO-UK) and implemented by the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), SMEP is addressing key challenges in the leather industry by enhancing traceability, reducing environmental pollution, and supporting circular economy practices.
Objectives
- Raise awareness of transparency issues and potential incentives for compliance within the global and South Asian context, explicitly linking these to EUDR implications
- Explore practical and evidence-based solutions that respond to policy challenges and industry needs, drawing on SMEP project insights; and
- Facilitating cross-sector collaboration
Key outcomes
- Enhance awareness of the current challenges faced by the leather industries in Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as the additional challenges anticipated with the implementation of the EUDR in January 2026. The regulation will be directly applicable to EU importers/traders. Exporters (e.g., in Pakistan and Bangladesh) will be indirectly affected.
- Provide insights into potential solutions being developed in both countries under the SMEP programme, particularly in the areas of transparency and traceability.
- This workshop is organised by World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan) and builds on two previous SMEP eco-tanning workshops for East Africa (August 2023 and November 2023) in Nairobi, Kenya.
Moderator
Henrique Pacini, Economic Affairs Officer and SMEP Programme Lead, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Speakers
Sohail Ali Naqvi, Director Freshwater Programme and Lead Sustainability and Stewardship, WWF-Pakistan
Elzette Henshilwood, Technical Project & Relationship Manager, SMEP programme
Adeel Younas, Manager Sustainable Supply Chains-WWF-Pakistan- SMEP project
Ebenezer Laryea, Project Director, LeatherTrace Bangladesh - Aston University – LeatherTrace SMEP project in Bangladesh
Anne Nistad, Senior Manager, Chain of Custody Standard, Leather Working Group
Mathieu Lamolle, Senior Advisor Sustainable Global Value Chains, International Trade Center
Henrique Pacini is an economist at the United Nations in Geneva, where he works on trade and circular economy issues. He has a degree in economics from the University of São Paulo, a Masters in European Studies from Hochschule Bremen, Germany, and a Ph.D in Energy Technology from KTH, Sweden.
He recently completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University, where he examined the commercial dynamics of secondary/scrap materials in world trade, and co-chaired Harvard’s first Circular Economy Symposium. Dr. Pacini published over 60 articles on environment, energy, trade and development issues.
