Earlier, Volvo officially announced that all models launched in the future will not use leather, so as to emphasize the brand’s position of caring for animals and promoting sustainable development. This means that by 2030, Volvo will become a luxury car brand with only pure electric models and no leather materials. According to the progress of the current new car project, the first car to achieve “zero leather” will be Volvo C40 recharge.
It is said that Volvo has required all direct suppliers to use 100% renewable energy by 2025, aiming to achieve the purpose of energy conservation and emission reduction.

Volvo survey results show that up to two-thirds of consumers regard the brand’s environmental policy as a key factor when purchasing luxury goods. The same proportion of buyers want to paste “environmental protection” labels on their products to improve the transparency of the impact of products and materials on the environment. This means that the world of materials is constantly developing. Designers all over the world are actively purchasing high-quality, sustainable and responsible materials while trying to create future luxury goods. In view of this, Volvo regards leather free (no leather) as the direction of future efforts, and will decorate the interior space with “nordico” material. Nordico is an environmentally friendly material made of recycled PET bottles, corks of wine bottles, and wood from sustainable forests in Sweden and Finland.

Volvo survey results show that up to two-thirds of consumers regard the brand’s environmental policy as a key factor when purchasing luxury goods. The same proportion of buyers want to paste “environmental protection” labels on their products to improve the transparency of the impact of products and materials on the environment. This means that the world of materials is constantly developing. Designers all over the world are actively purchasing high-quality, sustainable and responsible materials while trying to create future luxury goods. In view of this, Volvo regards leather free (no leather) as the direction of future efforts, and will decorate the interior space with “nordico” material. Nordico is an environmentally friendly material made of recycled PET bottles, corks of wine bottles, and wood from sustainable forests in Sweden and Finland.
Stuart temple, Volvo director, said that we are a progressive car manufacturer, which means that we need to solve all the problems encountered in the field of sustainable development, not just carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, environmental responsibility is a major principle when we purchase vehicle materials, including respect for animal life. We will achieve the goal of no leather in the field of electric vehicles. In addition, Volvo also hopes to reduce the use of plastics, rubber, lubricants and adhesives in the production of vehicles, so as to contribute to environmental protection. In terms of animal leather, its source is animal ranch, and the methane emitted from this site is currently recognized as one of the culprits of global warming. Therefore, reducing the use of leather to reduce the number of livestock in the pasture is another manifestation of protecting the environment.

The U.S. raw leather Council (Lhca) recently issued a statement, refuting the car manufacturer Volvo’s claim that it would give up using leather. Volvo decided not to use leather after 2030, on the grounds that it wanted to provide a commitment of “bio based and recyclable materials” and provide sustainable products to customer groups.
Volvo told Reuters that the decision to abandon the use of leather reflects consumers’ concerns about animal welfare in the leather industry and the environment of cattle breeding industry.
In response, Stephen sothmann, chairman of the United States raw leather Committee, responded: “there is no rancher in the world who raises cattle and sheep to produce leather. Raw hides are inevitable by-products in the production of meat and dairy products. If they are not recycled for these by-products, they will be discarded in landfills or burned. Volvo’s decision will only lead to more unnecessary waste of resources.”
According to the estimation of the United States raw leather Committee, about 4.8 million American cowhide will be wasted in 2020 instead of being used for leather production.
Mr. sothmann stressed that the study confirmed that even if people no longer buy leather products, the amount of cattle raised for the production of meat and dairy products will remain unchanged. The leather industry plays an important role in recycling by-products, reducing waste and preventing environmental pollution.
“If Volvo wants to use more recyclable and bio based natural materials in its cars, it should have a deep understanding of leather materials.”
In March this year, the leather business website questioned Volvo’s decision to give up the use of leather in its pure electric vehicles. Volvo said it would explain at an appropriate time. At that time, Dr Kerry senior, Secretary General of the international tanning Commission (ICT), responded: “the non use of leather will not change livestock breeding or animal welfare. Only more and more animal skins are discarded, and the use of synthetic materials mainly from unsustainable fossil fuels has increased.”