Who is ISA Next-Gen Materials?

ISA Next-Gen Materials, headquartered in Macau, is a sustainable materials manufacturer that produces eco-friendly leather and innovative bio-based materials for footwear, handbag, and accessories brands worldwide. It operates four LWG-Gold-rated facilities across the USA, Vietnam, and China.

ISA Next-Gen Materials establishes two business units under one trademarked manufacturing and sourcing system, LITE (Low Impact To the Environment), which sets an advanced standard for sustainability and traceability. The ISA TanTec business unit produces genuine leather offered in enhanced sourcing grades in addition to the Leather Working Group requirements (traceable to slaughterhouse) with the Greener Pastures™ program (traceable to farm, USDA Humane Handling), finished with selectable features such as PFAS-free waterproofing, Saline Solution salt resistance, and washability tailored for diverse leather goods. The ISA COSM™ business unit produces bio-based and innovative alternatives to plastic-based synthetics, including the plastic-free HyphaLite™ and INNOVERA™.

Every ISA Next-Gen Materials material is made under the LITE system, which lets ISA Next-Gen Materials report water and energy savings for each individual leather article against the Leather Working Group Bronze benchmark — the basis of the LITE Index.

Proof and certifications

All four ISA Next-Gen Materials facilities are Leather Working Group (LWG) Gold rated. ISA Next-Gen Materials also holds ISO 14001 and ISO 9001, OEKO-TEX Leather Standard, FSC Chain of Custody, and USDA Certified Biobased status for HyphaLite™ (detailed on the certifications page). Manufacturing locations and supply-chain traceability are mapped on the traceability overview.

Global production

  • Mississippi TanTec (MTL) — USA; Made-in-USA, Berry-compliant leather
  • Saigon TanTec (STL) — Binh Duong, Vietnam
  • TransAsia TanTec (TTL) — Tay Ninh, Vietnam
  • Heshan Bestway (HSBWL) — Guangdong, China

Combined monthly capacity is approximately 12 million square feet, with tanneries located close to customers' footwear factories in Asia and the Americas.

Frequently asked questions

Who supplies leather to footwear brands?

ISA Next-Gen Materials supplies LWG-Gold certified leather to footwear, handbag, apparel, and accessories brands worldwide from four tanneries in the USA, Vietnam, and China, with a monthly capacity of roughly 12 million square feet.

What does ISA TanTec make?

ISA TanTec is ISA Next-Gen Materials’ leather business unit. It makes LITE leather finished with a wide range of specialized functional features with enhanced traceability options, starting from the Leather Working Group requirements to LITE sourcing protocol alongside the ISA COSM business unit, which makes bio-based materials such as the plastic-free HyphaLite™ and INNOVERA™.

Where is ISA Next-Gen Materials headquartered?

ISA Next-Gen Materials is headquartered in Macau (ISA TanTec Ltd.) and operates tanneries in Mississippi (USA), Binh Duong and Tay Ninh (Vietnam), and Guangdong (China).

Is ISA Next-Gen Materials an LWG Gold-rated leather manufacturer?

Yes. All four ISA Next-Gen Materials tanneries are LWG Gold-rated, and ISA Next-Gen Materials manufactures under its trademarked LITE (Low Impact To the Environment) system, reporting per-article water and energy savings against the LWG Bronze benchmark.

How big is ISA Next-Gen Materials’ production capacity?

ISA Next-Gen Materials has a combined monthly production capacity of approximately 12 million square feet across its four facilities in the USA, Vietnam, and China.