Footwear - Leather - PPE Industry News & Articles
- Groundcover GM retiresHowick, KZN, SA - Former Groundcover GM Don Tully has retired and left the industry. He has taken up a position as GM of Sunfield Home for intellectually impaired adults. ...moreJim Green ‘the only SA manufacturer who pays full rate’, claims YouTube influencerAn “influencer” who promotes Jim Green Footwear on YouTube has made the claim that it is “one of the only if not the only” South African shoe manufacturers that pays 100% of the prescribed [wage] rate. He said others paid 65% of the rate.The influencer, who operates under the name Rose Anvil, made the claim in a pr ...moreDi Queen Designs: The intrinsic beauty of a practical productFlorida, Gauteng, SA – As a handbag manufacturing country, South Africa has a rich and varied source of leathers as its most obvious advantage.And leather was originally the material of choice for Diana Lopez when she started making handbags in her native Colombia years ago. It remained the material of choice when she moved to South ...moreUnexpected twist: could social media topple shopping giant?23 August 2023 – TikTok, the popular short-video app owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., is rapidly growing its TikTok Shop feature in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia, where it has found success as a livestreamed marketplace for in-app shopping. The platform’s success in this region is crucial, as it faces potenti ...moreSchool shoe comfort is vital according to Australian researchInsights from Australian Study on School Shoes:Footwear plays a pivotal role in our daily lives, impacting not only our style but also our health and comfort. Recently, a groundbreaking study conducted in Australia shed light on the attitudes of secondary school principals, parents, and students towards prescribed school footwear guidelin ...moreSchoolgirl sent home for designer shoes: Valuable insights for the footwear industryUK Schoolgirl’s ‘School Shoes’ Spark Dress Code DebateIn a recent incident that occurred at Grace College in Gateshead, UK and was reported by Sam Elliott-Gibbs in the Mirror UK on September 7, 2023, a schoolgirl’s choice of footwear has ignited a nationwide debate on school dress codes and comfort. This incident c ...moreBosch claims digital platform ‘takes anti-counterfeiting to the next level’Recognizing authenticity and ensuring traceability: Origify increases level of security for a wide range of products Stuttgart, Germany (31 August 2023) – Almost the entire European economy is affected by counterfeiting. Besides luxury goods, the problem affects many other sectors and industries: High-value, high-priced pr ...moreCommentary for footwear industry executives in Africa: Stay aheadAs the global business landscape evolves, it’s essential for executives in the African footwear industry to stay attuned to emerging trends that could reshape their market dynamics. The recent surge of TikTok’s in-app shopping feature, anticipated to reach a staggering $20 billion in gross merchandise value, underscores the si ...moreSustainability Glossary: A guide to picking the right term for the application – AND helping you understand what this is all aboutIf you had to pick the most used word from the many in the environmental wave which is engulfing the apparel industry, it would probably be ‘sustainability’.There are several other very common terms and words, like ‘global warming’, ‘carbon offsetting’ and ‘biodiversity’.All of them describe ...moreSA footwear & accessories trade statistics for July 2023Pretoria, Gauteng, SA (31 August 2023) – Source: SARS.Including Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN)Cumulative tradeTrade balance R'm (8 110 145 239)Ratio (exports/imports) 0.21Monthly tradeTrade balance R'm (1 411 294 417)Ratio (exports/imports) 0.19ExportsMonth % of total 0.19Cumulative 2022 (R'm) 1& ...moreExotics: Ostrich leather - Strong demand continuesMossel Bay, W. Cape, SA – Overall, we are very satisfied with the situation where ostrich leather is today. Overall demand globally is fairly strong, and at fair prices.There is quite a strong demand, especially from fashion houses in Europe and specifically the top end fashion houses. This demand didn’t go down during good co ...moreAn Eclectic View: Composting standardsBS EN 14995 and BS EN 13432 are the specifications in the UK/EU for compostability of plastics and packaging, respectively. Several test houses have published modifications to them to make them more accurate for a wider range of materials.Composting is the controlled aerobic breakdown of material. Materials capable of disintegration are p ...moreDecoding Tanning Science: Short – term preservation of hides using wheat branIntroductionIn order to prevent hides from rotting between the time the animal is slaughtered and the time the hide is processed in the tannery, they need to undergo some form of preservation. The most commonly used form of preservation is salting, which dehydrates the hide and thus prevents bacterial growth. It is estimated that at least ...moreBudget now for improvement – legislation is comingAs most of mainland Europe begin their summer break, it is usually around this time of year that we can take stock, catch up on those administrative tasks and plan ahead for the rest of the year. Well, perhaps it is a sign of our fast changing industry landscape, that means this year we are still moving at full speed just to stay on top ...moreHides & Skins: There are challenges everywhereHides: markets remain extremely challenging. Whilst better quality hides can be moved, pricing is a concern, specifically on the low end with South American material moving at prices well below cost.Merinos: The garment market is under severe pressure due to the situation in Russia/Ukraine (the traditional home for this material); whilst ...moreBrands: Sam Setter's 'Pills' - For readers who need some wry medicinal humourWhen you read the ‘big’ leather magazines and the position of the major leather industry auditing company, they all heavily focus on ‘the brands’, who by now have become the centre of their interest as if they are the most precious and important industrial entities in the world. In reality these brands are moneymak ...moreExotics: Reptilian leather Relief as California doesn’t appeal judgement overturning its crocodilian leather trade banLegal battles can be very drawn-out affairs, so the reptile exotic leather lobby globally is very relieved that a landmark victory in March this year in California, in a case between the states of Louisiana and California, “is all wrapped up and done, and there are NO APPEALS IN COURT! 🎉”, wrote Christy Plott, director of A ...moreSheepskins: Concentrating on local market – for nowBronkhorstspruit, Mpumalanga, SA – African Merino is affected by the problem in Ukraine, of course, as is every other business and person on the planet.We have not exported skins for many years and have shrunk to the size of a small business with annual production of less than 15 000 skins and staff less than 10 people.We lost our e ...moreCancellation of virtual portal in 2023 IULTCS CongressWe have received the following communication from the organizers of the forthcoming IULTCS Congress in Chengdu.The Organizing Committee of the 37th International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies (IULTCS) Congress is announcing, with sincere consideration, the cancellation of the virtual portal of the IULTCS Congress i ...moreSA hides, skins, and leather trade statistics for July 2023Pretoria, Gauteng, SA (31 August 2023) – Source: SARS.Including Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN)Cumulative tradeTrade balance R'm (131 497 293)Ratio (exports/imports) 0.95Monthly tradeTrade balance R'm (30 425 744)Ratio (exports/imports) 0.92ExportsMonth % of total 0.20Cumulative 2022 (R'm) 2 303 0 ...more© S&V Publications