Analysis of Environmental Footprint of Bovine Upholstery Leather by Using Life Cycle Assessment

Given the increasing emphasis on ‘dual carbon’ goals and the emergence of product environmental footprints/carbon footprints as international trade barriers, the evaluation of the environmental impacts of leather products using life cycle assessment (LCA) has become imperative. In this study, the LCA method and self-developed life cycle inventory databases for leather chemicals and Chinese cow hides were used to assess the environmental footprint, including the carbon footprint of bovine upholstery leather. Additionally, the study analyzed the contributions of various inventory data, including raw hides, leather chemicals, energy consumption during leather production, upstream transportation, waste treatment, and packaging materials, to the overall environmental impacts. The result of global warming potential (GWP) indicator of bovine upholstery leather was 11.6 kg CO2 eq/m2 of finished leather, with raw hides contributing a substantial 79.6%. The contribution of the remaining inventory data (excluding raw hides) was only 2.4 kg CO2 eq/m2 of finished leather. The result of primary energy demand indicator of upholstery leather was 73.8 MJ/m2 of finished leather, with the contributions from chemicals, energy consumption during leather production, and raw hides accounting for 39.4%, 30.6%, and 24.6%, respectively. The result of water use indicator of upholstery leather amounts to 907.9 kg/m2 of finished leather, with raw hides contributing the majority (93.2%). The result of ecotoxicity indicator of upholstery leather was 56.3 CTUe/m2 of finished leather, showing a close relationship with the quantity of chromium tanning agents used. Thus, improving the resource utilization rate of raw hides is key to achieving green and low-carbon manufacturing of leather products.