An important victory for the tanning sector, for consumers and for transparency in communication. By Laura Vantin on LinkedIn:

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On July 4, 2025, the Cologne Court of Appeal banned the German company Mina Merchandising GmbH from using the term “apple leather” to describe plastic collars, devoid of any leather components.

This is a historic ruling, the result of the action of the Verband der Deutschen Lederindustrie (VDL), with the support of COTANCE, which sends a strong message to all brands and communicators, in Europe and beyond:

Synthetic, plastic or vegetable waste materials cannot be called “leather”.

The Court reaffirmed an essential principle:

“Leather must mean leather.”

Prefixes such as “apple skin” or “cactus skin” do not justify the use of the term “leather” if the material does not contain real leather.

This is a clear stance against greenwashing and misleading labels. Using ambiguous definitions such as “vegan leather” or “apple leather” can violate consumer protection regulations and generate confusion in the market.

Leather is a noble, natural, certified and circular raw material.

And precisely for this reason, it is truly deserved.