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- Put on pause: the government is being asked to introduce a temporary ban on the concept of "eco-leather"
Put on pause: the government is being asked to introduce a temporary ban on the concept of "eco-leather"
The Federation Council supported the introduction of a temporary ban on the use of the terms "eco-leather", "ecomech", "vegan leather" by sellers in order to protect consumer rights from tricks and falsification. The senators recommend that the government introduce such restrictions before the amendments to the technical regulations of the Customs Union come into force. The reason is the massive availability on the consumer market of things (clothes, shoes, etc.) made of synthetic materials, while designated as natural. The initiative is supported by the Public Council of Rospotrebnadzor and the Russian Union of Tanners and Shoe Manufacturers (RSCO).
Why eco-leather and eco-leather cannot be considered natural
The government is being asked to ban the use of the terms "eco-leather", "ecomech", and "vegan leather" by sellers in order to protect consumers' rights from tricks and counterfeiting. The restriction must be in effect until the technical regulations of the Customs Union 017/2011 are amended with definitions of these concepts. Such recommendations to the Cabinet of Ministers were prepared by the Federation Council Committee on Rules and Organization of Parliamentary Activities, headed by Vyacheslav Timchenko, following parliamentary hearings held in the upper house of Parliament in early June.
In the document (Izvestia has it) It is said that a number of problems remain in the field of consumer protection today, which are typical for all regions of Russia. This includes the sale of low-quality and unsafe products on marketplaces and online platforms, as well as the availability of clothing, shoes and other products made of synthetic materials on the consumer market, while designated as natural. For these purposes, sellers use concepts such as "eco-leather", "vegan leather" and the like. However, these products have nothing to do with real leather and mislead consumers.
In this regard, the government is recommended to consider the possibility of introducing a temporary ban on the use of the words "eco-leather", "ecomech", "vegan leather" and the like in advertising and when selling light industry products (clothing, footwear) made of synthetic materials, the document says.
Eco-leather is created in the laboratory from synthetic materials. It was invented in the middle of the 20th century as an alternative to natural leather, which was too expensive for consumers. Scientists from the USA and Japan have developed a material that looks and performs similar to natural animal skin. However, nowadays marketers have begun to apply the concept of eco-leather as an environmentally friendly material in order to sell the product more profitably.
As reported to Izvestia in the Federation Council, in April of this year, the Russian Union of Tanners and Shoe Manufacturers (RSKO) addressed the senators with the problem of replacing the concepts of natural and eco-leather. The business called on parliamentarians to take measures in connection with the problem of the spread of synthetic materials under the guise of natural ones, recalling that the issue of their necessity was first raised at the SF site a year and a half ago. Izvestia wrote about this.
"In 2025, at the insistence of manufacturers, the Ministry of Industry and Trade began working on proposals to amend the EAEU technical regulations in terms of clarifying the term "leather". However, practice shows that this issue can be considered for years and will not be resolved, as the EAEU member states find it difficult to coordinate such issues. For example, the issue of changing the height of the heel in children's shoes has been solved by the states for about seven years. In this situation, it is necessary to introduce a temporary ban (pending the adoption of changes) on the use of illegal phrases with the prefix "eco," the union said in an appeal to senators (Izvestia has it).
— The materials from which the so—called eco-leather is made are synthetic. Therefore, these products are not only not durable, but also often harmful to health. Although there are concepts of synthetic and artificial leather in the Russian Federation, it is unprofitable for sellers to use them," explained Alexandra Andrunakievich, CEO of RSCO, stressing that in many countries, including the EU, such a ban on the use of these terms has already been introduced.
According to her, if a few years ago in Russia the substitution of concepts was an isolated phenomenon, now it has become widespread.
Izvestia sent a request to the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Industry and Trade with a request to comment on the prospects for supporting the ban.
How manufacturers deceive customers
In this case, we are talking about an unfair marketing technique that borders on misleading and deceiving consumers, Oleg Pavlov, head of the public Council at Rospotrebnadzor, head of the Public Consumer Initiative, who participated in the parliamentary hearings in the Federation Council, told Izvestia.
— The names "eco-leather", "ecomech", "vegan leather" give customers the impression that they are dealing with natural products, but this is not the case. Unfortunately, due to the lack of regulation and an outright ban, unscrupulous entrepreneurs in absolutely various fields are using this more and more, from making clothes to equipping car interiors," the social activist explained, noting that he receives a large number of complaints from Russians who could not figure out the substitution of concepts and were disappointed in buying goods.
According to him, it would be very useful to resolve this issue now and fix at least a temporary restriction on the ban at the level of a government decree.
— This would not only protect consumers, but also help protect the interests of manufacturers of genuine leather goods. If these products are made of synthetics, then they should be called that, because they are usually short—lived: they crack, delaminate and quickly fall apart during operation," Oleg Pavlov noted.
At the same time, he believes that it will not be difficult for sellers to replace price tags with product definitions, since they update them every time products arrive or the dollar exchange rate changes.
Georgy Ostapkovich, research director of the HSE Center for Economic Research and Economic Analysis, believes that consumers would support this proposal to introduce a temporary ban, as people want to know what they are paying for. At the same time, he believes that the initiative will not work if sanctions are not applied to businesses for its violations.
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