HTF has carried out an LCA study on a representative selection of leather finishing products. The study makes it possible to identify the components that determine the climate footprint of different formulations and marks the beginning of a programme that the company intends to extend progressively across its entire product range.
Where data meet application testing
Anyone working in leather finishing knows that a formulation cannot be assessed on the basis of a single characteristic. It must perform consistently during application, deliver the required aesthetic result and handle, and provide the necessary fastness and resistance properties while ensuring process repeatability.
Today, these parameters are joined by the need to better understand what comes before application: the origin of raw materials, production processes, transport and packaging associated with the products being used. Tanneries are increasingly required to respond to detailed technical and environmental requirements without losing control of the final result.
For HTF, the starting point is to bring these two perspectives together. Climate footprint data help identify where potential improvements may be found, while application testing verifies whether a particular choice maintains the required performance on leather.
What the LCA study measures
The analysis, commissioned to Spin360, covers a representative selection of the HTF product range and was carried out in accordance with ISO 14040, ISO 14044 and ISO 14067. The reference year is 2024.
To make the information comparable, the functional unit was set at one kilogram of chemical or auxiliary product. Packaging is accounted for separately, based on the configuration used for each individual product.
The system boundary is cradle-to-gate. The analysis starts with raw material production and ends when the product leaves the manufacturing facility, including production processes, energy, water, waste, transport and packaging. The use of the product in the tannery is excluded.
The data therefore describe the climate footprint of the product within this defined boundary. They do not represent the climate footprint of the finished leather and should not be interpreted as a complete assessment of the finishing process. Comparisons between products also require caution: dosage, application efficiency and technical performance can affect the result obtained under actual processing conditions.
Data collection combined documentation, interviews and measurements carried out at the facilities involved. Where specific data were not available, standard values and recognised LCA databases were used. Clearly stating these conditions helps define the scope of the results and identify the areas where greater accuracy can be achieved.
A different footprint for every formulation
The overall picture does not follow a single pattern. The contribution of the different components varies according to the formulation, the origin of the ingredients and the packaging configuration used.
For some products, chemical raw materials represent the most significant contribution. In other cases, transport accounts for a comparable or even greater share. Energy, waste and packaging complete the profile, with contributions that vary from one product to another.
This variability is one of the most useful findings of the study. The total value expressed in kilograms of CO₂ equivalent indicates the scale of the footprint; breaking it down shows where that footprint originates and helps identify which aspects deserve closer investigation.
A priority for one formulation may be secondary for another.
Raw materials: every alternative must pass the leather test
When chemical raw materials account for the largest share of the footprint, research naturally focuses on raw material selection. Among the directions identified by the study are the evaluation of alternatives with a lower climate footprint than petrochemical-derived substances and, where technically appropriate, the use of ingredients derived from recovered material streams.
In leather finishing, however, replacing one component can alter a complex balance. Any new solution must be assessed within the formulation, during application and in terms of the properties of the finished leather. Process stability, aesthetic result, handle, fastness and resistance properties, and repeatability remain essential criteria.
LCA does not select a raw material on behalf of the formulator. It indicates where attention should be focused and supports more informed research. Application testing must then confirm whether the identified benefit can coexist with the required technical result.
When logistics and packaging become relevant
The relative contribution of transport tends to increase when the impact associated with the raw material is comparatively low. This does not necessarily mean that logistics generate higher emissions in absolute terms. What changes is the relationship between the different components.
Knowing where ingredients come from and accurately reconstructing transport distances therefore helps interpret the data and establish priorities. More detailed primary data from suppliers and other operators along the supply chain will make future assessments more representative of actual conditions.
Packaging also requires a product-specific interpretation. For many of the products analysed, it accounts for less than 2% of the overall climate footprint, while other configurations show higher values. For several products, the use of tanks within recovery and reuse systems helps limit this contribution.
The useful question is not whether transport and packaging are important in absolute terms, but for which products they matter and why.
Data accuracy is part of the improvement process
The analysis is also valuable because it makes the limitations of the available information visible. Some raw materials are associated with generic datasets, while certain transport distances are reconstructed on the basis of supplier locations. The results remain useful, provided they are interpreted with an understanding of how they were calculated.
Collecting more granular data on ingredients, processes, suppliers and distances will make it possible to describe each product more accurately. The quality of the information therefore becomes part of the research process itself and a tool for documenting decisions more effectively.
From the first analysis to a broader understanding of the product range
The study provides HTF with an initial snapshot and, above all, a working method. For each formulation, it allows more focused questions to be asked: which component determines the footprint? Which alternatives are worth testing? How much do sourcing and transport matter? When does packaging deserve closer attention?
HTF now intends to progressively extend the assessment across its entire product range. The aim is to build an increasingly comprehensive information base capable of supporting formulation development and technical dialogue with tanneries.
Knowledge and application expertise in support of tanneries
For tanneries using finishing products, access to more precise information means gaining a better understanding of the solutions they use, assessing potential trade-offs more carefully and responding to the market’s technical and environmental requirements on a more solid basis.
HTF combines this growing body of data with its formulation and application expertise. Its role as a technical partner is expressed through the ability to support customers from the evaluation of alternatives through to testing their performance on leather, while keeping quality, aesthetic result, handle, fastness and resistance properties, and consistency at the centre of the process.
This is the step from data to leather: using climate footprint information to guide decisions and relying on application testing for final verification.
Measurement opens new directions for research. The result on leather confirms the value of the solution.