[11] Like the rest of the German leather industry, the company was hurt by World War I, especially by the stoppage of imports of hides under the Allied embargo and a subsequent ban that was not officially lifted until 1924, and also by bureaucratic controls.

The company also participated in a number of cooperative agreements to facilitate exports, and skirted regulations in Poland and Eastern Europe by representing German and Austrian leather as Swiss products of its Tannerie de Lausanne subsidiary.

By 1929, the company was once more exporting 70% of its production, but the worldwide economic depression that began late that year, and the high taxes that many countries imposed on imports in response, further damaged the German leather industry.

In 1990, it acquired the Swedish cleaning products company Wettex [sv]; in 1997 it formed a joint venture in Italy, later wholly owned, to recycle PET bottles into fabric.

It also continued to diversify, into shock absorption, filters, and starting with the acquisition in 1966 of Klüber Lubrication [de], chemical production.

[29] Since a reorganization in 1996, Freudenberg Group has had a decentralized structure; in 2013, it consisted of 16 divisions or areas of business incorporating 430 independent units.

The company's original business of leather production continued to shrink in the late 20th century, impacted by reduced demand and rising prices for raw materials.

By 2001, the leather division was responsible for only 1% of Freudenberg's gross income and its primary customers were American companies, which canceled orders after the September 11 attacks.

However, the company has continued to run its manufacturing plants in Russia, navigating a complex position amidst sanctions and geopolitical pressures.

[43] Carl Johann Freudenberg laid down guiding principles for the company: modesty, honor, financial solidity and adaptability to circumstances.

[44] In the late 1930s, the company developed operating principles that include broad diversification in both products and markets, spreading of risk, long-term thinking, the maintenance of an equity ratio of at least 40%, and avoidance of large acquisitions while favoring small ones.

[46] In each area of activity, the company operates only where it can be first or second in the market; for example, it sells motor seals worldwide but Vileda mops mostly in Europe.

[46] As of 2024[update], the company consists of the following business groups (the majority headquartered in Weinheim): Freudenberg instituted health insurance for employees in 1874.

[54] The company owns the Schau- und Sichtungsgarten Hermannshof, a public botanical garden in Weinheim, which opened in 1983 and is jointly operated with the town.