COTANCE represents the European Leather Industry in front of EU and UN institutions and bodies. It is a non-for-profit umbrella organisation gathering the leather producers’ associations of the EU and connecting with over 95% of all European tanneries. COTANCE develops active coordination policies in the areas of trade, environmental performance, social accountability, corporate social responsibility, sectoral governance issues such as transparency & traceability, animal welfare and deforestation, R&D+I as well as education & training and image & communication.
COTANCE is the employers’ side of the sector’s Social Partners at EU level.
COTANCE is a member of ICT, the International Council of Tanners and participates in GLCC, the Global Leather Cooperation Committee gathering the 3 international organisations of the leather industry ICT (Leather), ICHSLTA (Hides & Skins), IULTCS (Chemicals & Technology Suppliers).
COTANCE chairs the EU CheMI industries platform of REACH-related matters and cooperates ad hoc with the EU Footwear Technology Platform.
COTANCE’s Secretary General is the Chair of CEN TC 289 “Leather”, the standardization body for the leather industry, which develops test methods for the determination of chemicals in leather and tanning formulations, as well as physical and fastness test methods for leather and terminology and specification standards.
COTANCE is a member of the UNIDO Leather Panel, the FAO Sub-Group for hides & skins and a subscriber of the UNEP Declaration on Sustainable Production & Consumption. It cooperates with ILO on leather-relevant topics and with UNECE in the development of traceability and transparency standards for the leather value chain.