Cuero/en

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Although animal leather is not considered a textile material because it cannot be transformed into a fiber or a material that can be spun, it is used to make products within the fashion industry (clothing, bags, shoes, etc.).

The production of these types of materials involves not only the slaughter of animals but also the creation of tanneries for their processing.

Leather goods supply chains are complex, globalized, and fragmented. The tanning process is associated with risks to both human rights and the environment. It generates large quantities of wastewater containing hazardous chemicals that, if not properly treated, can contaminate the soil, groundwater, and waterways that local communities rely on for drinking water and agriculture. 

Until recently, the Hazaribagh district was home to most of Bangladesh's tanneries. Not only were there serious labor abuses, including child labor, but for decades untreated chemical waste was dumped into the local Buriganga River. The river has turned black and is now classified as biologically dead. The government has relocated most of the tanneries to the Savar district, but health and safety issues and working conditions have not improved, and promised infrastructure has yet to materialize: tannery effluents pool on the ground, drainage ditches empty into the Dhaleshwari River, and solid waste, such as animal tails, lies discarded in the streets.