Leather Tanning Chemicals (Chromium vs Vegetable Tanning, Worker Exposure) — safety profile
Moderate risk80-90% of global leather is chrome-tanned using chromium(III) sulfate — which can oxidize to hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) (IARC Group 1 carcinogen) during processing and in finished products.
What is this product?
80-90% of global leather is chrome-tanned using chromium(III) sulfate — which can oxidize to hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) (IARC Group 1 carcinogen) during processing and in finished products. EU REACH restricts Cr(VI) in leather to <3 mg/kg. Cr(VI) in leather causes allergic contact dermatitis (4th most common contact allergen in EU patch testing). Tannery workers face extreme occupational exposure: chromium, formaldehyde (finishing), organic solvents, and hydrogen sulfide (unhairing process). Kanpur, India and Hazaribagh, Bangladesh tannery districts: documented environmental and health crises. Vegetable tanning uses plant tannins (oak, chestnut, mimosa) — slower, more expensive, but avoids chromium entirely.
What's in it
Click any compound name for its full safety profile, regulatory consensus, and exposure data.
Tanning Agent
Frequently asked questions
No FAQs generated.
Look up Leather Tanning Chemicals (Chromium vs Vegetable Tanning, Worker Exposure) in the body app
Search by ingredient, browse by category, or compare to alternatives in the live app.
Open in body View raw API dataReference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific information. Why we built ALETHEIA →