12 questions to ask a leather supplier before your first order
Most first orders go wrong because the buyer qualified the leather and never qualified the supplier. These twelve questions do the second job, and every answer should arrive as a document rather than an adjective.
A guide by TL San Martín, a tannery of origin in Elda (Alicante, Spain) since 1995, LWG Gold certified under the Leather Manufacturer standard.
Before you send a deposit to a leather supplier, ask twelve questions — and expect documents, not adjectives, as answers. The four that matter most: under which LWG standard is your certificate issued, who owns the tanning batch, will you sign off a lab dip before bulk, and what is your re-order lead time. A supplier who answers all four in writing is almost always a tannery. One who answers with "premium quality, fast delivery" is almost always reselling someone else's leather.
This checklist is written for a brand buying leather for the first time. Every trade term is explained where it appears.
Why do first orders go wrong so often?
Because the buyer qualifies the leather (colour, feel, price per square foot) and never qualifies the supplier. The swatch looks fine; the bulk arrives two shades off, from a different batch, six weeks late, and the company on the invoice turns out to be a warehouse that cannot tell you where the hides were tanned. None of that was visible in the swatch. All of it was visible in the answers below — if you had asked.
Block A — Who are you actually buying from?
1. Do you tan and finish this article yourselves, or do you buy it finished?
The honest answer splits the market in two. A tannery turns raw hides into finished leather in its own plant. A distributor or warehouse buys finished or semi-finished leather ("crust": tanned but not yet coloured or finished) and resells it. Neither is wrong, but only one controls colour, thickness and repeatability. Our guide to tannery vs leather distributor goes deeper.
2. Can I visit, or see a dated video of the drums, splitting and finishing line?
A tannery says yes. A reseller will offer a showroom.
3. Under which LWG standard is your certificate issued, and when does it expire?
This is the single most useful question in the list. The Leather Working Group runs four standards — Leather Manufacturer, Commissioning Manufacturer, Trader and Subcontractor — and only the first two carry a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal. A Trader certificate tops out at "Approved". Manufacturer certificates are valid 24 months (12 for Trader), and the medal is awarded at the level of the lowest-scoring of the 17 audited sections, so a "Gold" is a floor, not an average. Traceability is scored separately, in %. If the answer is "we are LWG certified" with no standard named, ask for the PDF and read it with how to read an LWG certificate. TL San Martín holds LWG Gold under the Leather Manufacturer standard — the only standard under which a Gold medal exists at all.
Block B — What exactly am I buying?
4. What is the article's technical sheet: substance, grain type, tanning, finish?
Substance is thickness, measured in millimetres (ISO 2589). A shoe upper is usually 1.0–1.4 mm; a belt 2.5–4.0 mm; a lining 0.7–0.9 mm. Grain type tells you whether the surface is natural (full grain), sanded (corrected grain) or the underside layer (split). Tanning is chrome, chrome-free or vegetable. If any of the four is missing from the sheet, the supplier does not control the article.
5. Which physical tests has this article passed, and can I see the report?
For footwear uppers the standard set is flex resistance (ISO 5402, typically 50,000 dry / 100,000 cycles), colour fastness to rubbing (ISO 11640) and tear strength (ISO 3377). A tannery has reports on file for its own articles. A reseller has to ask upstream.
6. What is the average hide size and the expected cutting yield?
Leather is sold by area — square feet or square metres per hide — but you cut usable area, not gross area. A Spanish calf hide averages 15–20 sq ft; a cow side 20–25 sq ft. Expect 65–85 % yield depending on the pattern. The number you need for costing is €/pair, not €/sq ft, and only the supplier who knows the hide can give it. Our guide to how much leather a pair of shoes consumes does that conversion step by step, and the leather-for-shoes hub covers the material side.
7. Which defects are normal on this grade, and which give me the right to reject?
Every hide has scars, growth marks and neck wrinkles. Agree upfront which selection grade you are buying (A/B/C or the tannery's own scale) and what its tolerance is. Leather defect or normal flaw? lists what to accept.
Block C — Colour, batch and repeatability
8. Will you make a lab dip for my colour, and who signs it off?
A lab dip is a small piece dyed to match your reference (a Pantone number or a physical swatch) before bulk. You approve it; the tannery keeps a counter-sample; bulk is matched against it. If the supplier cannot produce a lab dip, they cannot dye — they are choosing from stock.
9. Who owns the batch, and can it be reserved for my re-order?
A batch (or "lot", partida in Spain) is the set of hides tanned and dyed together, and it is the unit of colour consistency. Two batches of the same article can differ visibly. Ask whether your production is cut from one batch and whether the tannery can hold a portion — or the recipe — for your repeat. Our piece on sample-to-bulk consistency explains the tolerances to write into the order.
10. What is your minimum on this article, and what is the re-order lead time?
Two different numbers. A tannery quotes a minimum per colour per batch (often measured in hides or square feet) and a lead time to make it again — typically 3–6 weeks from crust, longer from raw. A warehouse quotes what is on the shelf today, with no guarantee of tomorrow. For a brand that intends to re-order, the second number matters more than the first.
Block D — Money and paperwork
11. What are the payment terms, Incoterm and the HS code on your pro-forma?
An Incoterm defines who pays freight and insurance and where risk transfers (EXW = you collect at the tannery gate; DAP = delivered to your door, duties unpaid). The HS code is the customs classification — finished bovine leather sits under heading 4107 — and the supplier, not your forwarder, should put it on the pro-forma. If samples cross a border first, read leather samples and customs.
12. What do you need from me?
A good tannery will ask you back: end product, target thickness, colour reference, quantity per colour, delivery date, and whether you need chrome-free or restricted-substance compliance (REACH, or a brand RSL). If they ask nothing, they are not planning to make anything for you.
Quick reference: what the answer tells you
| Question | Tannery answer | Reseller answer |
|---|---|---|
| LWG standard | Leather Manufacturer, medal named, PDF sent | "We are LWG" / Trader "Approved" |
| Technical sheet | Substance, grain, tanning, finish | Photo and price |
| Lab dip | Yes, signed counter-sample | "Choose from our colour card" |
| Batch | Reserved, or recipe kept | "Subject to stock" |
| Tests | Reports on file | "Top quality" |
| Re-order lead time | 3–6 weeks, dated | "Depends" |
How to run the checklist without sounding difficult
Send the twelve questions as a one-page email before asking for samples, and say why: you are planning a programme, not a single purchase. Serious suppliers welcome it — it is the same list their existing brand clients use. Then order physical leather samples in the thickness and finish you intend to buy, and check the swatch against the technical sheet, not the other way round.
Frequently asked questions
Should I ask for the LWG certificate before or after samples?
Before. It costs the supplier nothing to send and it tells you in one page whether you are dealing with a manufacturer or a trader.
Is a supplier with no LWG certificate automatically a bad choice?
No — many small tanneries make excellent leather without it. But you then have to verify the plant yourself (visit, tests, batch ownership). The certificate is a shortcut, not a guarantee of colour or feel.
What is a reasonable colour tolerance between lab dip and bulk?
Agree it in writing; many brands use a visual approval against the counter-sample under a standard light box (D65), with an instrumental ΔE limit only for critical colours. What matters is that both parties sign the same reference.
Can I reserve a batch without paying for all of it?
Sometimes. Tanneries can hold the recipe and dye the next batch to the same counter-sample; holding physical hides usually requires a deposit. Ask which of the two is on offer.
Post your sourcing request on the open board. Looking for a tanned article, a chrome-free alternative or a supplier who will sign off a lab dip? Publish the spec on the TL San Martín Business Board — a free, open B2B board for the leather and footwear industry — under Materials. Spanish tanneries and cutting workshops read it. If what you need is a factory to cut and make the product, use Partners & factories.
TL San Martín tans and finishes leather in Elda, Alicante, since 1995: LWG Gold under the Leather Manufacturer standard — the only standard under which a Gold medal exists at all; a Trader tops out at "Approved". Sources: Leather Working Group, Leather Manufacturer Standard and Standards & Certification.