Leather Industry Articles
- Exotics: Ostrich leather - Strong demand continues
Mossel 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 standards
BS 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 bran
IntroductionIn 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 coming
As 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 everywhere
Hides: 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
