É considerado crime no Brasil afirmar que determinado produto é feito em “couro sintético” ou “couro ecológico”.
The leather law: the penalty is for those who use expressions such as “synthetic leather” or “ecologic leather”.
In Brazil, it is consider a crime to affirm that a product is make on “synthetic leather” or “ecological leather”. Expressions like this break the law 4.888, created in 1965, which prohibits the use of leather terms in products that are not made on animal’s skins. The expression “genuine leather” is also prohibited. In addition, the products must be only identified as “leather”.
In 2013, the “Centro das Indústrias de Curtume do Brasil” (CICB) promoted a series of actions for widely inform the industries and the Brazilian population about the law leather. The costumer must be aware of the origin of the product that he is buying – this can lead to negative consequences on quality and durability of the products that are not made on leather.
Braking the Leather law is considered a crime attributed to unfair competition, and is seen on Article 195 of the Penal Code, and the penalty is the detention of the offender, this can vary from 3 months till 1 year, or fines.