Leather Colorants Market: size is expected to reach USD 3,931 million by 2030

Leather Colorant Industry Chain Analysis

The industry chain of leather colorant can be divided into three major parts: upstream raw material supply, midstream manufacturing and downstream terminal application.  

1. Upstream raw material supply  

The upstream includes suppliers of chemical raw materials, mainly providing dyes, pigments, organic solvents and auxiliaries, such as polyurethane resins, water-based organic solvents and other basic ingredients, renewable, organic and environmentally friendly raw materials are gradually taking a dominant position. According to the International Chemical Industry Market Report (published in 2023), the proportion of suppliers providing water-based dyes and natural pigment materials among global chemical companies is 41%.  

2. Midstream Manufacturing


Midstream mainly involves specific colorant R&D and product manufacturing, and different application scenarios determine product diversification. For example, water-based colorants are adopted by furniture and leather manufacturers due to their low VOC release characteristics, while oil-based colorants are more suitable for high-end automobile interiors that require high texture effects. A number of companies, such as Germany's BASF (BASF) and Switzerland's Clariant (Clariant), has long occupied a leading position in this field, dedicated to improving product stability and reducing production costs.  

3. Downstream end-use applications 


The downstream segment corresponds mainly to leather manufacturers and manufactured products, such as furniture, footwear, bags and car seats. The global market demand for downstream users of environmental protection and functionality requirements increase year by year. According to research data, 2022 leather products market, the proportion of enterprises using water-based dyes instead of traditional solvent-based dyes has exceeded 57%.

Global leather colorant industry status

According to industry report statistics, the global leather colorants market was valued at USD 3,086 million in 2023 and is expected to reach an adjusted size of USD 3,931 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 3.5% during the forecast period of 2024-2030.

Three notable trends are currently dominating the changes in the global market:  

Environmental regulations in Europe and the United States in the control of chemical products VOC emissions more and more stringent, for example, the European Union put forward the “carbon neutral target” to encourage the leather industry to use water-soluble environmentally friendly products, a direct impact on the direction of the research and development of colorants.  High-end leather products (such as luxury brands of leather goods, high-end car interiors) on the colorant requirements are more complex, not only to present a delicate natural color, but also need to provide excellent light durability and color fastness.  

South America, the middle east and africa's consumer goods manufacturing industry gradually development, the demand for low-end leather colorant products climb. Especially in South America, Brazil leather industry annual average growth of more than 4%, has become an important growth pole in the region.  

Regional market issues

Asia-Pacific region for the world's largest market, occupying nearly half of the share. China, India as a major producer, the demand for economic and environmental protection type coloring agent is strong. However, this region is relatively weak in technological innovation, and some enterprises are still at a disadvantage in high-end category competition. In addition, small and medium-sized enterprises are generally characterized by rising raw material costs and shrinking profits brought about by environmental pressure.  

The North American market is dominated by the United States, which occupies an important position in the high-end market. North American consumers prefer to buy high-performance and environmentally friendly goods, so the popularity of water-based colorants is higher. Nonetheless, high prices have been a prominent dilemma in this market, which has driven more companies to relocate their production facilities to the Asia-Pacific region to reduce costs.  

European countries have been phasing out solvent-based products since 2020 due to their high focus on environmental protection. The market is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises in Switzerland, Germany and Italy, however, the overall market growth rate is lower than the global average (CAGR of only 3.1%), mainly due to the limited incremental space in mature markets.  

Industry experts and industry insiders point of view

According to the proceedings of the Leather Technology and R&D Forum (2023), industry experts expressed their views on industry innovation:  

Steven Roy, an Australian leather chemistry expert, pointed out that the focus of the future market will be on the development of 'smart colorants'. He said: “Consumers are placing increasing emphasis on sustainability and digital transformation, and leather dyes that are able to self-modulate their color with temperature and humidity are likely to be a key driver of the next round of market change.”  

China Leather Association representative Wang Shuzhen emphasized that domestic enterprises need to strengthen the construction of standardized production lines, and suggested that the government provide tax incentives for environmentally friendly raw material enterprises in order to promote industrial upgrading.