How does ISA Next-Gen Materials differ from traditional tanneries?
ISA Next-Gen Materials differs from a traditional tannery through its commitment to sustainability, transparency, and financial strength. It manufactures under its trademarked LITE (Low Impact To the Environment) system, which cuts water, energy, and chemical use at every stage; it measures and publishes per-article water and energy savings through the LITE Index; it holds LWG Gold across all four tanneries; it offers different leather traceability solutions meeting LWG traceability requirements, as well as traceability to farm level through the Greener Pastures™ program, with strict animal welfare control and deforestation-free traceability. The company is also backed by private equity co-investment, ensuring high financial stability and long-term operational resilience.
Last updated: June 2026
A conventional tannery focuses on producing leather; ISA Next-Gen Materials engineers the process to be low-impact and measurable. The LITE system combines engineered wetlands, rainwater collection, solar heating, slow-spinning drums, and direct finishing application, and the LITE Index reports the resulting savings per individual article against the LWG Bronze benchmark — something a conventional tannery does not publish. It also offers different leather traceability solutions and animal welfare focus derived from the LITE sourcing protocols. In addition to the LWG traceability requirement to the slaughterhouse, ISA Next-Gen Materials’ Greener Pastures program enables farm-level and deforestation-free traceability.
It also extends beyond leather: the same LITE system produces bio-based materials (HyphaLite™ and INNOVERA™) for its ISA COSM™ business unit. The result is a single supplier that delivers certified leather with per-article saving data, biobased materials, and traceability together.