How to read an LWG certificate before you approve a supplier
Sourcing teams have learned to ask for the certificate. Very few have learned to read it. That gap is where most leather sourcing risk now sits: the claim is accurate, the document is genuine, and the buyer still ends up with a supply chain that is not what the tender specified.
A supplier can hold a valid LWG certificate, advertise it truthfully, and still not be a tannery. LWG runs four separate standards — Leather Manufacturer, Commissioning Manufacturer, Trader and Subcontractor — and only the first two are ever awarded a medal. Traders are rated "Approved". Before you accept "LWG certified" as an answer, read four fields: standard, medal, traceability percentage, expiry date.
Which LWG standard is the certificate actually issued under?
This is the first field to check and the one that changes everything else. The four standards are not tiers of the same audit — they cover different kinds of business.
| Standard | Who it covers | Medal possible? | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leather Manufacturer | A facility that physically tans and finishes hides | Yes — Gold / Silver / Bronze / Audited | 24 months |
| Commissioning Manufacturer | Owns the process, has it run by audited subcontractors | Yes | 24 months |
| Trader | Buys and resells leather or part-processed material | No — rated "Approved" only | 12 months |
| Subcontractor | Runs one process step for someone else | No — rated "Approved" only | 24 months |
Two consequences follow. First, "LWG Gold" cannot exist under the Trader standard — if a supplier's certificate says Trader, the highest status available to it is "Approved", and any Gold language in its marketing refers to something other than its own certificate. Second, a trader certificate expires in 12 months, not 24, so it goes stale twice as fast as a manufacturer's.
The practical test is short: ask which standard the certificate was issued under, and ask for the certificate number so you can check it against the LWG member directory yourself. A supplier that tans its own hides will answer in one line.
What does the medal level really tell you?
Less than most buyers assume, and in a specific direction.
The Leather Manufacturer audit protocol (P7) scores 17 separate sections — operating permits, energy, water, air and noise emissions, waste, effluent treatment, chemical management, traceability, social audit, and so on. Section thresholds are 85 % for Gold, 75 % for Silver, 65 % for Bronze and 50 % for Audited.
Here is the part nobody quotes: the final rating is awarded at the level of the lowest scoring category. A tannery can score Gold in sixteen sections and Bronze in one — and its certificate reads Bronze. The medal is therefore not an average and not a headline. It is a floor.
Read it that way and the logic inverts. A Gold certificate does not mean the facility is excellent on average; it means there is no section below 85 %. That is a far stronger statement than "sustainable leather", and it is the reason the medal is worth asking for at all.
Why is the traceability percentage a separate number?
Because it is scored separately, published separately, and can be low — even zero — on a facility whose certificate is entirely in order.
Traceability is a scored section of the leather manufacturer audit, but it is not currently a critical section directly determining the medal; LWG has stated it is planned to become one in the next major update of the standard. Until then, the traceability figure published alongside a manufacturer is the percentage of material traceable back to a specific slaughterhouse, a group of slaughterhouses, or a region of collection.
So "are you LWG certified?" and "where does your raw hide come from?" are two different questions, and the certificate only answers the first. If your brand has a deforestation file to build, the second is the one that matters — see EUDR and the leather exclusion for what actually has to be evidenced.
A trader with 100 % not-traceable raw material can hold a valid, honest LWG certificate. That is not a scandal; it is how the scheme is designed. It simply means the certificate was never the traceability answer.
What should you ask for before you approve a supplier?
Four documents and one comparison. Nothing exotic — but ask for all of them together, because the gaps only show up side by side.
- The certificate itself, showing standard, medal or "Approved", certificate number and expiry date. Not a logo on a PDF brochure.
- The published traceability percentage, and the level it is traced to: slaughterhouse, group, or region.
- The audited facility address, and confirmation that the leather you are buying is finished at that address — not commissioned elsewhere and shipped through it.
- The chemical management position, including whether chrome-free lines are available and documented. Chrome vs chrome-free tanning sets out what that difference does and does not buy you.
- The comparison that matters: is this a tannery, or a merchant selling tanned leather? That distinction drives lead times, batch reservation and the ability to rerun a colour — set out in full in tannery vs leather distributor.
TL San Martín has tanned and finished in Elda since 1995 and holds LWG Gold under the Leather Manufacturer standard, with verified traceability — not an intermediary seal. We publish the standard and the number because the standard is the part of the claim that carries the information. See our LWG Gold position, how to buy leather directly from Spain, or the plant itself behind the material.
Frequently asked questions
Can a company advertise "LWG certified" without being a tannery?
Yes, and legitimately. A Trader or Subcontractor certificate is a real LWG certificate. It simply carries no medal, covers a different scope, and — for traders — is valid for 12 months rather than 24. The word "certified" is doing far less work than it appears to.
Does LWG Gold mean the leather is chrome-free?
No. LWG audits how a facility measures, controls and reports its environmental and social performance. Tanning chemistry is a separate specification. Gold facilities run chrome, chrome-free, or both.
Can a Gold tannery have low traceability?
Under the current protocol, yes. Traceability is scored but is not yet a critical section determining the medal. Ask for the percentage as its own figure, and ask what level it traces to.
How do I verify a certificate is current?
Take the certificate number and check it against the LWG member directory rather than the supplier's website. Then check the expiry date against your production calendar — a certificate expiring mid-season is a question worth asking before, not after, you place the order.
The open board. Reading a certificate correctly narrows the field fast; it does not tell you who to talk to next. The TL San Martín Business Board is a free, open B2B board for the leather and footwear industry. If you are verifying suppliers, post in Materials — article, volume and the certification you need — and let the answers come to you. If your question is about how a process is really done, use Processes & advice.
TL San Martín is a third-generation Spanish tannery in Elda, Alicante, tanning and finishing since 1995: LWG Gold audited under the manufacturer standard, solar-powered, with an in-house AI sourcing platform and a range spanning footwear, leather goods, premium bedding, hospitality and marine interiors. If you would rather have the leather in your hands than on a certificate, request samples.