---
title: "Footwear: leather — what it means"
description: "That part of the shoe is leather. What the symbol looks like, what happens if you ignore it, and where its meaning differs by country."
url: https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-shoe-leather/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Footwear: leather

**Footwear: leather: That part of the shoe is leather.**

## What it looks like

A stretched animal hide seen from above, like a flattened skin with four leg stubs.

## What it means

The EU footwear labelling rules require a pictogram for each of three parts — upper, lining and insole, and outer sole — and this hide shape means leather, defined as hide with its original fibrous structure intact. It is the material mark; the part it applies to is shown by a second pictogram beside it, a shoe drawn with the relevant section shaded. Leather here says nothing about grade, so full-grain and heavily corrected splits carry the same symbol.

> Defined by Directive 94/11/EC on footwear labelling. Where a symbol differs between standards, the difference is described above rather than resolved — both versions are in circulation on real labels.

## Other product care symbols

| Symbol | Means |
| --- | --- |
| Upholstery cleaning code W | Clean with water-based cleaners only. |
| Upholstery cleaning code S | Clean with solvent-based cleaners only — no water. |
| Upholstery cleaning code W-S | Either water-based or solvent-based cleaners may be used. |
| Upholstery cleaning code X | Vacuum or brush only — no liquid cleaner of any kind. |
| Period after opening (open jar with 12M) | How many months the product stays good after you first open it. |
| Cosmetics hourglass (minimum durability) | The best-before date of a cosmetic product — it is best used before the date shown. |
| Footwear: coated leather | That part is leather with a surface coating no thicker than a third of the total thickness. |
| Footwear: textile | That part of the shoe is a textile, natural or synthetic. |
| Footwear: other materials | That part is made of something that is neither leather nor textile. |

## Common questions

### What does the footwear: leather symbol mean?

That part of the shoe is leather.

### What does it look like?

A stretched animal hide seen from above, like a flattened skin with four leg stubs.

## Related pages

- [Footwear: coated leather](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-shoe-coated-leather/)
- [Footwear: textile](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-shoe-textile/)
- [Footwear: other materials](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-shoe-other/)
- [Upholstery cleaning code W](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-upholstery-w/)
- [Upholstery cleaning code S](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-upholstery-s/)
- [Upholstery cleaning code W-S](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-upholstery-ws/)
- [Upholstery cleaning code X](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-upholstery-x/)
- [Period after opening (open jar with 12M)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-pao/)
- [Cosmetics hourglass (minimum durability)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-cosmetic-hourglass/)
- [Footwear: coated leather](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-shoe-coated-leather/)
- [Footwear: textile](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-shoe-textile/)
- [Footwear: other materials](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-shoe-other/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)