Sustainable Leather Foundation: Work Begins in the SADC…
In June, as part of the recently awarded contract to support sustainability improvement of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) under the SIPS Project, SLF travelled to Tanzania to participate in two workshops on the 6th June and the 8th June.
The first workshop, held in the capital, Dodoma, was attended by 45 representatives from national and local government, leather manufacturers and footwear manufacturers. Following the main presentations, the assembled group discussed key challenges and opportunities for the country, including the need to retain high quality raw material in the domestic supply chain (instead of exporting it or sending to waste) and the need to support true implementation of better practices and structures. Investment and financial support were also high priority discussion points.
The second workshop took place in Mwanza and was attended by 37 representatives from local abattoirs and hide collectors. This workshop focussed more on specific training included flaying and preservation and culminated in a positive two-way dialogue to discuss the upstream challenges and opportunities for the region.
Deborah Taylor, Managing Director of Sustainable Leather Foundation (SLF), commented “This was the first on-the-ground visit to Africa for SLF and it was an important, successful start towards building relationships and trust with key stakeholders. Understanding the challenges and opportunities that are prevalent in the SADC is vital to success and some of the feedback already received indicates that the problem lies in lack of consistent implementation and support. There have been many projects previously in Africa, all well intended and valuable, but unless we create local knowledge and resource, then things invariably lack the drive and momentum for lasting and meaningful change.
Tanzania has the 4th largest livestock production in Africa and the 2nd largest in the SADC region, so Tanzania is a country with the potential to re-grow its leather industry for domestic and international markets. Following this first week, we are even more determined to have a positive impact in the region and we are encouraged by the enthusiasm of the stakeholders we have already met.”
The next visits will include Namibia at the end of July, Angola during the first week of August and Tanzania again late August. Other countries that will be involved over the coming months include Botswana, Zimbabwe and Madagascar. You can find out more about SLF’s involvement in the SIPS project by visiting the Project Page on the SFL website: https://sustainableleatherfoundation.com/working-together/sips-project
For more information about the SIPS Project itself visit: https://www.sadc.int/project-portfolio/support-industrialisation-and-productive-sectors-sips
Footwear Industry Articles
- A perspective: Perhaps it was an eye-opener for industry players to hear each otherLooking back over the workshop, BMA consultant Justin Snelling wrote: “In terms of our reflections of the workshop, we covered a lot of territory. Perhaps though what was most encouraging was the breadth of participation from different segments of the sector and their willingness, or even excitement, to contribute. We don’t ta ...moreAn industry with distinctive material riches, unable to sufficiently convert them into finished goods in a world class way“The project’s purpose,” said Courtney Grant, “is to be a robust, evidence-based strategy to address the leather and general goods sector’s challenges and unlock its growth potential.”The main headings of her presentation were:Creating the groundwork for a National Leather and General Goods Strategy:Fro ...moreCity of Cape Town backs AllFashion Sourcing as it seeks to grow CTFL sector
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – AllFashion Sourcing Cape Town 2026 returns to Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC 2) from 14–16 July 2026, marking a significant milestone as the City of Cape Town joins as a key partner in advancing Africa’s fashion, textile and apparel sector.This partnership signals a shared visio ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- LEATHER’S ELEMENTARY UNIT
Geoff Attenburrow’s PhD student David M. Wright worked on the behaviour of leather under strain (Attenburrow, 1993; Wright, 1996). They were the first to describe that leather had a “co-operating unit”, a set of structures within leather that helped the leather to resist breaking and to resist deformation at low strain.T ...moreSam Setter's 'Pills': TraceabilityThe EU Commission is very much engaged in bringing traceability of our raw materials to the forefront of tannery management. But let’s reflect on this for a moment. In the industrial world traceability is a fact, and particularly where food is involved, traceability is a standard requirement for trading. This is firstly to ensure fo ...moreMobilising Africa’s human resource to reinvigorate the regional leather value chain
In last month’s edition I wrote about mobilising Africa’s livestock to reinvigorate the regional leather value chain, and this article is focussed on mobilising the human resource that is needed to make the most of the abundant livestock populations in the region.On Friday 12th June, newly organised SARLEN (Southern African Re ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- Understanding local and international PPE standards: Clarity in a complex landscape
Appearances and claims to the contrary, South Africa’s PPE industry “is largely unregulated, and a high percentage of PPE on the market is not compliant with official standards”, uvex Safety SA MD Christo Nel said, “and that’s a problem at many levels, and for the entire value chain”.He said the fundame ...moreBiodegradable disposable gloves ‘a growing trend’ in PPE
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 ...moreNew OHS regulations coming into force later this year mean PPE needs to be reviewed, too
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
