S & V Publications

Trading Conditions / Middle East warPrices from our suppliers are increasing rapidly and will have a negative effect on our manufacturing soon. We await what the upcoming months are going to show as we might be outpriced by the rising cost.Airfreight has been surprisingly quick, and we have had no surprises from water shipments as yet, b ...more

Trading Conditions / Middle East warDurban, KZN, SA – “There are multiple possible reasons why it’s been a very quiet April,” Nasron Footwear Manufacturers member Rodney Naidoo said last week, “but from a sales and turnover point of view, it’s been dreadful – and that’s from someone who&rsqu ...more

The Arsutoria International Workshop at the Cullinan Hotel in Cape Town on 01 and 02 June 2026 will cover footwear as well as handbags and leather goods.What makes this year especially exceptional is the inclusion of a distinguished global expert, bringing decades of experience across design, merchandising, branding, and export developmen ...more

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – In response to “one of the most persistent and damaging waves of foot and mouth disease (FMD) the country has seen in decades”, the Department of Agriculture plans to vaccinate the entire national cattle herd, according to a press release on 26 November.FMD affects the leather value chain because ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – FINALLY, someone (SAFLEC in this case) has seen the light. From DAY 1, I have been at pains to explain to people that a "blanket" system to the tariff structure makes zero sense. The HS system has to be used. e.g. I can import alligator skins (raw / crust or dyed finished) at 0% duty from the US ...more

Mossel Bay, W. Cape, SA – Around 20% of our ostrich leather sales are destined for the USA. Our clients use the leather to manufacture exotic leather cowboy boots. Because our clients in the USA cannot buy the ostrich leather from local (USA) tanneries, we feel that this raw material should be exempted from tariffs.  ...more

Pinetown, KZN, SA – BBF Safety Group (Pty) Ltd has appointed Ndlela Mazibuko as MD, effective 01 November 2025. He will work alongside the BBF Safety Group CEO, Brian Kuhnert, together with the Beier Group CEO, Warren Sachs, “in growing the customer centric focus of the business”, according to a release.  ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – Fashion group Dangee Carken is launching a PPE division.An initial range of imported safety footwear and locally made workwear, branded GrittGear, will launch in October.Director Robby Stoller said the group had been working on the project for over 6 months. He said an industry specialist would be joining ...more

The application to resurrect 4Tify Africa – formerly North Safety – and other subsidiaries of African Boomerang Holdings, was withdrawn following the death in March of former CEO Craig Garvie, attorney Kobus van Niekerk, of JI van Niekerk Inc., has confirmed.“The business rescue applications were withdrawn,” he wro ...more

The 2-day Retail Buyer Engagement & Manufacturer Onboarding Programme on 01 and 02 July was part of an effort to kickstart the R-CTFL Masterplan – which, from a footwear perspective at least, has appeared stalled.It was sponsored by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and implemented through the R-CTFL Masterplan Footwea ...more

The 2-day Retail Buyer Engagement & Manufacturer Onboarding Programme on 01 and 02 July was part of an effort to kickstart the R-CTFL Masterplan – which, from a footwear perspective at least, has appeared stalled.It was sponsored by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and implemented through the R-CTFL Masterplan Footwea ...more

An Informative & Nostalgic Letter written in April 2025 to two executives at Acushnet (USA) – A leading golf corporation which includes FootJoy Shoes.RE: FootJoy & II recall the very first pair of FootJoy golf shoes my late father bought for me in July 1976. This wasn’t my first interaction with the brand that I had al ...more

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – FMD is no longer a series of isolated outbreaks; it has become a national systemic risk, and we need to shift our mindset from emergency response to living with and managing FMD responsibly. The pressure is already showing in the numbers. Our latest figures show cattle slaughter down 12% and sheep slaughter d ...more

Shareholder value is usually the result of running a good business, not a reliable operational principle for running one ...more

On 1st July 2026 I presented at the FILK Leather Days conference and asked the delegates to consider “Sustainability through a new lens: resetting how we view impacts in the leather value chain”. This month’s article therefore explores this idea a little more with a focus on how we view data and whether it can blind us t ...more

The poster is available to download in English in both PNG and PDF formats hereCompostable and biodegradable PPE are said to be rapidly growing trends internationally, lead by brands like Showa and HaPPE Earth.The nova-Institut für politische und ökologische Innovation GmbH in Hürth, Germany, has published an updated versio ...more

In March 2025, the Physical Agents Regulations (and their guidelines) and the Noise Exposure Regulations (and their guidelines) of the OHSAct were published, with an 18-month time-period promulgation date to September 2026, allowing employers time to upgrade their Health & Safety requirements to comply with the new published regulatio ...more

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is utilised in a work-environment as part of a larger prevention plan, because on its own protection is limited and may even provide a false sense of protection.An occupational disease prevention plan must be an actionable approach that identifies workplace health hazards, evaluates exposure, and i ...more