Groenewald returns to OPSA

The French parliament has recently reduced VAT on repairs for shoes, leather goods, textiles, and bicycles from 20% to 5.5%, a move expected to support sustainability, local artisans, and potentially revitalize a declining industry. This decision, reported by World Footwear on November 6, 2024, raises questions about its potenti ...more

Durban, KZN, SA – As the economy still seems to be precariously poised due to various exogenous variables, I remain very cautious about looking into the future.The formal sector of the economy has not fared well in terms of employment as measured by Clothing Industry Bargaining Council figures (see attached chart).It appears that th ...more

David Fox, Choice ClothingCape Town, W. Cape, SA - It’s been a pretty tough year for most retailers, I think – a weak Rand and cash-strapped consumers. Our Black Friday promotion will run from 21st November to 3rd December, with specials every day. The merchandise will be across the board – T-shirts, jeans, footwear. It ...more

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA (25 October 2024) – The Department of Agriculture has announced that the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak, which occurred during 2021-2022, has been successfully resolved in the North West, Free State, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga Provinces. These provinces, which were initially impacted by the outbreak, have n ...more

Land use and land use change (LULUC) refers to the study area in general – that is the study of how global land use change (commonly through human intervention) results in increased atmospheric emissions. The obvious emission is that if the forest is burnt, the emissions are directly released into the atmosphere. However, the change ...more

IntroductionEnzymatic bating is an important part of the leather making process. Bating enzymes help remove unwanted skin components from the hide structure, as well as any scud present on the grain layer. Good bating leads to clean, soft leather. Under bating results in poor removal of unwanted skin components, and a firmer crust leather ...more

Pinetown, KZN, SA – In any environment where the build-up of static electricity has been determined to be a risk, anti-static footwear must be worn. Anti-static footwear is designed to help dissipate the accumulation of static electricity from the body while still providing a reasonable level of resistance to electrical hazards from ...more

Pittsburgh, PA, USA – PPG’s Steelguard 951 epoxy intumescent fire protection coating is designed for advanced – read high value – manufacturing facilities, including semiconductor plants, electric vehicle battery facilities, data centres and other commercial infrastructure.It provides up to 4 hours of fire protecti ...more

Potsdam, Germany (02 September 2024) – Fungi have more to offer than meets the eye. Their thread-like cells, which grow extensively and out of sight underground like a network of roots, offer huge potential for producing sustainable, biodegradable materials. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in ...more