Change at IULTCS

Julian Osgood…Goal is to promote the IULTCS.
I would like to take this opportunity to inform you of a recent change at IULTCS. The International Union of Liaison and Communication Commission (IUL) Chairman, Dr Christine Anscombe, after many years of dedicated service to the Society, has decided to take a step back from the role. The IULTCS committee has appointed me, Julian Osgood, as the new IUL Chairman. I will endeavour to continue the excellent work Christine has done for the society. I have had the pleasure to meet many of you in the past, but for the benefit of those who do not know me, the following is a brief résumé:
Julian Osgood. BSc, FSLTC
I studied Leather Technology at the British School of Leather Technology in Northampton in the 1980s and have worked in the industry, all over the world, ever since. Currently I am working as a consultant for ATC Tannery Chemicals, France, but I actually live in Portugal. I have presented papers at many leather industry congresses and conferences over the years and written articles for some of our industry’s magazines.
I am proud to now have the opportunity to work with the IULTCS and I will do my best to help the society to improve its ability to serve the industry.
My responsibilities as IUL Chairman are defined as follows:
- Establishing and maintaining a network of global contacts within the leather industry that have a legitimate interest in and an authoritative platform to express opinions on issues affecting the industry.
- Establishing and maintaining external media contacts for events or issues that may require an industry response.
- Pro-actively establishing and maintaining agreed “positions” on possible issues that may arise within or relating to the leather industry.
- Providing liaison services with the international leather media on activities and events that occur within the IULTCS.
- Improving the utilization of the IULTCS website, LinkedIn and Facebook accounts.
Footwear Industry Articles
- Duty evasion, false country of origin and labelling main targets: NCC and SARS ‘sign MoU to strengthen compliance’Media statement issued jointly by the National Consumer Commission (NCC) and SA Revenue Service (SARS)Pretoria, Gauteng, SA (06 May 2026) – The National Consumer Commission (NCC) and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance consumer protection against the proliferation of ...moreNational Leather and General Goods Strategy WorkshopOn 23 June, following months of fieldwork, B&M Analysts (BMA) hosted an online workshop to discuss the recovery of the handbags, belts, travel goods and allied manufacturing industries in SA.The industries, although very diverse, fall under the General Goods & Handbags Sector of the National Bargaining Council of the Leather Indus ...moreVermont sale completedJohannesburg, Gauteng, SA – After 39 years, former owner Mandy Owen has sold her shares in Vermont Leathercraft Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd to Creek Lab (Pty) Ltd, and officially handed over the business to Prashant Bhaga.In a message on LinkedIn, she wrote: “I would like to thank my husband, Graham, for his invaluable contributio ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- SA’s 2025 automotive leather exports: Down on 2024, but still good, on the face of itFigures from NAAMSA’s Automotive Trade Manual 2026 Automotive components – exports by product Component category 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 % of total export value Ran ...moreSam Setter's 'Pills': Over and AgainThe EU announced that hides and skins could be removed from the EUDR directive's deforestation commodities. Could! Last month, like many others, I thought that the decision had been taken, but that doesn’t seem to be correct. The final decision will be taken after public feedback. Yeah, you read this right: after public feedback. As ...moreMobilising Africa’s natural livestock resource to reinvigorate the regional leather value chainAfrica possesses one of the world’s largest livestock populations, yet the continent captures only a fraction of the value generated from leather and leather-based products. From cattle in the East and South Africa, to goats and sheep across North Africa, the continent’s abundant livestock resource represents not only a source ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- The legal ramifications: PPE and the law: Ignore at your peril?There’s no shortage of legislation covering employee safety in South Africa, but as in so much else, the enforcement is poor.In terms of our laws, the death of an employee (or anyone else) in a work situation, caused by negligence, is treated as culpable homicide. An injury caused by negligence is also a criminal act – that, b ...moreSA's first PPE conference draws top speakersThe Safety First Association and SAPEMA hosted SA’s first PPE conference in March, cramming 20 papers into a 2-day event, which also featured a number of PPE supplier stands. Here, we carry edited versions of 7 of them to illustrate the diversity of the topics. We expect to carry more in the next edition.As several speakers pointed ...moreRealPPE Marketplace: Where safety meets smarter procurementRealPPE Marketplace is a 100% black women-owned B2B PPE marketplace built for South African industry. Founded after years of witnessing safety officers and procurement teams lose time to fragmented suppliers, inconsistent pricing, and missing documentation, RealPPE was created to bring structure and reliability to industrial PPE sourcing. ...more





