Footwear - Leather - PPE Industry News & Articles

We all know about the running shoe boom. More people are running, trying to stay healthy while also remaining socially distant. Sales of running shoes are up compared to a year ago. I’m firmly convinced we’ll see running shoes return as street wear, something we have not seen in over 8 years. But there is a related trend that ...more

Madrid, Spain (April 13, 2021) - Spanish trade fair organiser IFEMA Madrid, which includes the twice-yearly Momad  shoe fairs in its portfolio of over 50 fairs, says digital platforms and services and the hybridisation of its fairs will add 30% to current turnover over the next 3 years, adding more than €40 million in revenue. L ...more

 Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (March 04, 2021) - The DOT Safety Footwear group has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with UK-based construction and agricultural machinery manufacturer J.C Bamford Excavators Ltd (JCB). DOT's licence covers the distribution of the premium range of JCB Safety Footwear throughout Southern Africa. D ...more

Pinetown, KZN, SA - The Lemaitre Maxeco - now part of the BBF Safety Group's footwear range - has shod generations of South African workers over the last 30 years, and almost 10 million pairs have been produced - a very rare achievement in this country. Every legacy has to start somewhere. It’s a story based on the recollections of ...more

There was a time, not too long ago, when footwear retailers, wholesalers, importers and manufacturers around the globe could rely on the certainty that their specific skills would see them through for time to come. Market forces were relatively simple and could be dealt with effectively. ...more

Spurred by the unlikely combination of athleisure and lockdowns, comfort footwear has become a category for every brand. Comfort footwear, comfortable footwear, wellness footwear, health footwear - different names and shades of meaning - but until fairly recently, in South Africa, mostly footwear for one category of end consumer, dominated by a few brands and a few specialist retailers.rn ...more

Texon has seen a significant uplift in interest in its paper-based Texon Vogue material over the last 5 years, which it attributes, in part, to the increasing number of people becoming vegan. Around the world a growing number of people are adopting plant-based diets. The United Nations estimated that in September 2020 there were around 78 ...more

Kimberley, N. Cape, SA - S&V has Kim-G Leather Sandals, making 50 pairs/week, listed as a crafter in the Directory.  We may have to change that.  Opened 2 years ago by former Durbanite Gerry du Toit as a retirement project, Kim-G has just dispatched its first export order to Australia.  "The owner of the orthopaedi ...more

Skelton, UK (February 02, 2021) - Following a project with one of the world’s leading sports brands, Texon has reengineered one of its most popular box toe puff materials for the footwear industry to include more sustainable content. Collaborating across its supply chain to source more sustainable materials, Texon has increased the ...more

Boksburg, Gauteng, SA - I immigrated to South Africa in 1974 to take up employment with Plessey SA, upgrading and automating telephone exchanges. In 1981 I was deployed to the Natal north coast to install at Paradise Valley (Pinetown),  Salt Rock, Ballito, Verulam  and Stamford Hill (Durban). This is when we met Lionel Astill, M ...more

Lusaka, Zambia (February 12, 2021) – The Zambia Crocodile Farmers Association (ZaCFA) "is quietly confident" that the industry has turned around following the removal of the 10% export duty imposed on raw crocodile skins in the 2021 Budget, according to association spokesperson and Kalimba Farms chairman Bill Thomas. Altho ...more

Not much good news due to the lockdowns which have seriously affected the markets locally and internationally. However optimism prevails at Zambezi Tanners, which is re-equipping for full bovine hide production. This is in line with the ongoing demand for upholstery leather, which is currently being imported. A Zimbabwean leather furnitur ...more

Bujumbura, Burundi - Tannery and finished goods manufacturer Afritan plans to increase its manufacturing to 500 pairs/day "in the near future", director Bède Bedetse said.  He said the tannery was working well below capacity, and that a second, smaller tannery in the country is currently closed.  "We have c ...more

Machines or equipment that is not maintained (or looked after) will not last long. A machine or equipment that must be replaced often adds unnecessary expense to the business, contributes to end of life waste, and drives consumption demand. Energy efficiency and sources of contamination are what hurt the tannery even more, however – ...more

Memphis, Tenn., USA (February 02, 2021) – Buckman, a privately-held global company specializing in innovative chemistry and smart solutions, announced global price increases of 8 to 25% for all product offerings. The price increases became effective immediately.  Recent increases in the price of raw materials, in addition to ri ...more

Kettering, UK (February 21,2021) - At the recent virtual meeting of the IULTCS leather test method commissions, 2 of the 3 convenors were replaced -The IUP (Physical) and IUF (Fastness) Commissions have new convenors: Jacqueline Glasspool was appointed as the new convenor of the IUP Commission (and also of the Working Group 2 (WG2) o ...more

Kettering, UK (February 22, 2021) - The executive committee of the IULTCS is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 IUR research grants to be awarded to 2 young scientists, under the age of 35. The monetary awards help support the work of young talent in the leather sector. This is the seventh year of the grants which have been gener ...more

How long will stitchdowns be a fashion item this time around?I expect stitchdowns (vellies) to stay in the agricultural market forever. You would, however, have to be very creative in 5 years’ time to still ride the current wave in the malls of SA and the overseas market. Vellies will always be part of “Die Boer” and his ...more

How long will stitchdowns be a fashion item this time around? It’s hard to predict but I believe stitchdowns current popularity will continue for many more seasons, especially locally due to price and the versatility of the traditional Veldschoen silhouette.  Fashion fluctuates depending on the times so the Vellie demand w ...more

How long will stitchdowns be a fashion item this time around?Normally the product life cycle follows a pattern which, towards the tail end, attracts many rats and mice or so-called fly-by-nights. We have an increasing number of the afore-mentioned, which usually precipitates a fall off of business as the category becomes cheapened and hea ...more