Posted by FNA on 23 Mar 2011--The need to create a label for shoes and products made from real leather is getting more essential as synthetic materials continue to advance in imitating leather. Despite the Leather Law (n 11.211) existing since the end of 2005, it still has not been put on the statute book so that it can be applied, and has turned this victory of the leather sector into something which cannot be applied judicially.
Leather needs a specific label Wolfgang Goerlich
However, even without legal validity, the President of the Center for the Tanning Industry of Brazil (CICB), Wolfgang Goerlich, stated that his institution has notified companies that the use of the words synthetic leather is prohibited by this very law and achieved positive results. We sent a note informing about this question and the companies accepted that the label was incorrect. The fact is that it is a law that has not been placed on the statute book means that we cannot take these cases before the courts , Goerlich explained.
Goerlich stated that the CICB, as is the case with other regional organizations of the sector, is taking firm action with the Federal Government so that the law can be made affective. I believe that the correct institution to do this is Inmetro (Brazilian Institute for Weights Measures and Industrial Quality) but we had meetings with them and they affirmed that they did not have judicial competence in this matter, Goerlich confirmed.
The most likely solution is for the MDIC (Brazilian Ministry for Development, Industry and Foreign Trade) to step in as take over the task of having the law put on the statute book. We are pushing ahead and hope to have a solution to this problem in the shortest time possible, Goerlich concluded.
