Sørensen Leather: Improved environmental and climate efforts

Why have you chosen the Nordic Swan Ecolabel for certification of your products?

Sustainable development is a major focus area for Sørensen Leather, and a collection that is certified with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel is a great help in highlighting our environmental and climate profile. Our DUNES® collection is the first leather collection in the world to be certified with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. With this certificate, we can show our customers that we produce in responsible conditions that meet the strict requirements of the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. We find that the Nordic Swan Ecolabel is strong because the product's entire life cycle is taken into account when a leather collection is certified. The Nordic Swan Ecolabel for our DUNES® collection was both a strategic choice and a way to differentiate ourselves.

What are the benefits of Nordic Swan Ecolabel certification for you? What benefits do you gain?

We believe that customers set high environmental certification requirements, but it's also our view that it can be difficult for them to distinguish between all the different certificates available in the market. The biggest advantage of the Nordic Swan Ecolabel is clearly that customers recognise the label.

In addition, the Nordic Swan Ecolabel is factual, focuses on specific data and sets the requirements and limits for, for example, consumption of chemicals. The Nordic Swan Ecolabel can reassure our customers that DUNES® meets stringent environmental and chemical requirements. 

To protect both the aquatic environment and users, for example, there is a ban on a long list of chemicals used in the tanning process that are harmful to the environment and health. There are also requirements concerning dyes, surface coatings, solvents and biocides – and for testing that the finished leather is free of chromium VI, which can be allergenic. There are also stringent requirements for wastewater from tanneries, and the strength and quality of the leather – and requirements for compliance with UN labour rights during production.

The Nordic Swan Ecolabel’s criteria are continuously evaluated and tightened on the basis of the latest knowledge and development in the industry. This continued evaluation of criteria motivates us to investigate whether we can produce even more responsibly. It gives us an increasing awareness of what we need from our partners.

What trends do you see for the future of the Nordic Swan Ecolabel?

During the last few years, there has been increased focus on ecolabelling of furniture – and at Sørensen Leather we can see that our customers are requesting environmental certification to a far greater extent than before. We can also see a significant increase in interest in DUNES®, because the collection is certified with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel.

Customer demand for a clear environmental profile is helping to develop the market and strengthen the focus on certifications. This is also a great motivation for us to continue our work with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel and continue to investigate whether more of our collections can be approved.