Slaves
Publicity has always been a very important trade tool and its use to sell products goes back ‘ages’. The use of publicity is becoming more and more important as people, the consumers, are not thinking anymore with their own heads, but follow what others, so-called self-promoted influencers, tell them how to behave, how to dress, what to eat, where to go, what to buy, etc., etc., etc., without thinking that they do this for money! It is absolutely discerning that an individual, who should have the capacity and capability to think and make his or her contemplated decisions, simply takes for granted what is presented to them by someone totally unknown without any particular professional skills or product knowledge, except the skill of communicating. What worries me is that people fall for this. Big time! They don’t buy anymore what they want to buy, but buy what they are told to buy. People are losing their capability to think critically and independently. If you reflect on this, it is really terrible! I mentioned this to a government official of an EU country, and she answered, ‘you are too old to understand this!’. Yep, I am probably too old. I never went to my children’s school to knock the teacher out cold when my children came home with a bad note. Instead, I told my children to do better, listen better to the teacher and get better notes. This dictatorship by ignorant nobodies is seriously damaging the leather industry. What do these influencers know about leather and how it compares with what they promote as green solutions, which in reality are environmentally unfriendly plastic alternatives? Nothing! But people follow their ‘advice’. Just go to a concert or any gathering, a queue, and see what people are wearing on their feet! 70% are wearing non-leather footwear and I fear it will worsen, as our message is not getting through to the consumer, the modern shopping slaves.
Footwear Industry Articles
- Palm Footwear: ‘One family’Palm Footwear was founded in July 1966 by Kasie Pattundeen, with 18 staff, making slippers.60 years later, with over 800 staff, it is among the biggest employers in the SA footwear industry and among the biggest manufacturers by volume.It remains a family business, headed by Rajeev and Kiran Pattundeen, with their children, Srishti and Rt ...moreCity of Cape Town backs AllFashion Sourcing as it seeks to grow CTFL sectorCape 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 ...morePalm moves into sports sponsorship as terraPOD signs landmark contract with KZN women’s rugbyDurban, KZN, SA — Palm Footwear Manufacturers’ terraPOD safety footwear brand has upped its marketing campaign after signing a renewable, 1-year sponsorship agreement with the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union (KZNRU) to support the growth and development of women's amateur rugby across the province.Believed to be the first partnershi ...more
Leather Industry Articles
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PPE Industry Articles
- RealPPE 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. ...moreUnderstanding local and international PPE standards: Clarity in a complex landscapeAppearances 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 ...moreWhat if the respirator you rely on to protect your health never sealed properly?I had the opportunity to present at the first PPE Conference in RSA, where I shared some early work we) have been exploring towards developing respirator designs better suited to the South African population.Below is a short AI-generated summary of the core message of the presentation.Respirators are often the last line of defence against ...more







