Brands and tanneries can now verify where their leather comes from to ensure compliance with their sourcing policies and regulations. Oritain, a global leader in origin verification, has extended its forensic science capabilities to a material known to be more opaque than cotton.
The recent “Readiness Report: The Future of Fashion Traceability—Sustainability and Supply Chains in 2026 and Beyond” revealed that more than 60 percent of brands do not have visibility beyond Tier 1.
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“They know who the manufacturer is. They might know who the tanneries supplying finished leather to the manufacturer are. But that’s where it mostly stops,” said Michela Mossali, government relations manager at Oritain.
Many companies want to be confident and aware of what happens in the leather world regarding their suppliers. However, the inherent opaqueness and fragmentation of the leather supply chain, with its many different actors, create a “wall” that makes it incredibly difficult to obtain reliable origin data to substantiate environmental and animal welfare claims.
Whether to meet tightening regulations or prove claims to consumers who are more curious than they have been in the past, companies need visibility that is both reliable and verifiable.
Growing leather origin requirements
Under the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), hides and leather placed on the European market must be covered by a due diligence statement that includes the country of production and geolocation data proving the product is deforestation-free. Large companies will face enforcement from Dec. 30, 2026.
If a tannery does not comply, brands sourcing from them will lose supply as the non-compliant product cannot be placed on the market. U.S. companies that rely on EU supply, whether for trade or internal use, should prepare to comply once enforcement begins.
And then there is the implementation of the digital product passports (DPP), which will initially apply to textiles and apparel, but is expected to apply to other categories of products placed on the EU market in the future. The DPP requires brands to share information about origin along with the product’s material makeup, carbon footprint and care instructions.
How Oritain verifies leather origin
Authenticity and quality are central to material trust, and both begin with visibility into origin.
Oritain’s forensic methodology verifies the geographic origin of leather by analyzing elements naturally absorbed by the animal’s skins from its environment through climate, atmosphere, soil and the food and water the animal consumes. These stable isotopes act as inherent markers to form an origin fingerprint that remains intact within the hide even after intensive tanning process.
To verify origin, Oritain has developed a unique and innovative method that analyzes the hides’ isotopic composition. This proprietary method enables verification at multiple stages of production from raw hides to wet blue, wet white and finished hide—without disruption to existing processes.
Oritain has established a growing reference database for bovine (calf and cow) and ovine hides from key producing countries across Europe, Africa and South America, with new reference baselines being developed to address deforestation-linked sourcing areas. To expand this database, Oritain investigates production areas, collects samples on the ground and analyzes them in advanced labs to ensure high performance rates before the data is cleared for auditing.
Each sample is compared against this database to verify whether its origin matches its declared source.
By verifying origin directly from the material itself, Oritain gives brands scientific certainty about what they are buying and selling, supporting accurate reporting for sustainability and impact assessments. Authentic leather carries economic, ethical and reputational weight—inaccurate or misleading claims can damage all three. Independent verification helps confirm that premium hides are genuine, that substitutions have not occurred during processing and that tanneries are sourcing from the regions they claim.
Verification as a starting point for supply chain clarity
Once verified, origin data becomes a tool that gives brands and tanneries a clearer starting point that is independent of declarations, certifications or platform-based tracking systems. It helps validate existing supply chain knowledge and identify where engagement is needed.
For brands, verified origin information supports collaboration between sourcing, sustainability, quality, legal and commercial teams. For tanneries, this can be used to strengthen buying practices and communicate sourcing clarity to brand partners.
“We see origin data giving teams something solid to work from. It gives them confidence when they communicate with suppliers and when they speak internally about sourcing decisions,” Mossali said.
To learn more about Oritain and its latest venture, click here. To download the “Readiness Report: The Future of Fashion Traceability—Sustainability and Supply Chains in 2026 and Beyond,” click here.
