Muirhead calls British manufacturing "instrumental" in leather innovation
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Muirhead focuses on sustainability in Scottish leather
Muirhead has credited U.K. production and a local supply chain as key drivers of its market leadership, the company said in a recent press release. Citing its U.K.-focused strategy (using local sourcing, full traceability, and a vertically integrated manufacturing process), Muirhead called it "instrumental in creating the world’s lowest-carbon leather."
Gareth Scott, Hide Procurement and By-Product Sales Director at Muirhead said, “The U.K.’s blend of top-tier suppliers and stringent regulations creates a prime environment for advancing innovation in leather manufacturing. At Muirhead, we’ve harnessed British craftsmanship and our responsible supplier relationships to create fine luxury leather for over 180 years. Our family-owned facilities in Scotland played a crucial role in developing the world’s lowest-carbon leather for aviation and passenger transport, which we now export to more than 60 countries worldwide."
Scott continued: “The advantages of British manufacturing and our localized supply chain are evident in our commitment to responsible and sustainable practices. The U.K.’s dedication to animal welfare and agroforestry, along with its geographical advantages and strong regulatory framework, means that every hide we process meets the highest benchmarks for quality and traceability. Thanks to this U.K.-centric approach, we’re uniquely positioned to drive sustainable innovation and produce exceptional leather products for the aviation, rail, bus and mass transit sectors.”
Muirhead’s end-to-end control of the supply chain enabled the manufacturer to weather the impact of recent shortages. Each hide is tanned in the company’s family-owned tannery near Glasgow and finished on-site, resulting in consistently short lead times and more stability for customers.
The company sources 99 percent of its hides from trusted farmers in the U.K. and Ireland, typically within a 400-mile radius of its tannery. This enables Muirhead to leverage the region’s exceptionally high animal welfare standards and keep “hide miles” to a minimum, further improving its Life Cycle Analysis (LCA).
Both countries are among the highest-rated territories in the Animal Protection Index, with the U.K. credited for developing the globally recognized Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare. All hides are sourced directly from abattoirs that are subject to daily inspections by government veterinarians and licensed under U.K. and EU regulations. This is in addition to obtaining British Retail Consortium accreditation and Food Standards Scotland or Food Standards Agency approval.
Local sourcing and the U.K. regulatory system are integral to Muirhead’s commitment to 100 percent traceability, which ensures buyers can track the journey of a single hide from the farm and abattoir to the finished product. This level of traceability aligns with the government-backed Cattle Tracing Scheme, managed by the British Cattle Movement Service and ScotEID.
The ability to guarantee the origin and ethical production of raw hides has become essential following the emergence of leather suppliers whose products, although marketed as sustainable and European, come from a complex and blurred supply chain, with pre-tanned hides imported from as far as South America, Muirhead said.
Sourcing hides locally in the U.K. also means there is no risk of deforestation as a result of Muirhead’s leather production. The company works with suppliers who are adopting regenerative farming practices via land restoration and agroforestry. This focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity and improving the water cycle. With Scottish agriculture already at “net zero”, the U.K. Climate Change Committee and the British Veterinary Association predict that all U.K. agriculture will achieve this status by 2030.
