Footwear glossary · Compliance & Testing
What is LWG certified leather?
LWG (Leather Working Group)
LWG (Leather Working Group) certification is an environmental audit of a tannery, rated Gold, Silver, Bronze or Audited. It covers chemical management, water and energy use, effluent treatment and traceability of hides. Many brands require leather from LWG-rated tanneries.
The Leather Working Group is a multi-stakeholder organisation of brands, tanneries and suppliers. Its Leather Manufacturer Audit Protocol scores a tannery on environmental performance: restricted-substance and chemical management, energy and water consumption, air and noise, waste and effluent treatment, and traceability of raw hides back to the slaughterhouse.
The score sets the rating. Gold is the top tier, then Silver, Bronze and Audited. Certificates name the audited facility, the process category (for example crust to finished leather) and an expiry date, and can be checked against the LWG public listing. The rating belongs to the tannery, not to the shoe factory that buys its leather.
Brands usually write LWG into their sourcing policy as "leather from LWG Gold or Silver rated tanneries". For a buyer it is a quick way to show the leather in a shoe was made under audited environmental controls.
DOING sources leather from an LWG Gold-rated tannery, certified to June 2028, and shares the certificate with buyers on request.
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