S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine Vol81 No3 March 2018
This Magazine is sponsored by SAFLIA
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Business Barometer: We have to try harder
- Haesloop Agencies: Still macro challenges, but strong at company level.
- Leather Basics: Price is still the major issue.
- Bella Bianca: Signs of an upturn.
- The Azula Collective: Energy, experience and optimism.
- Bass Marketing: Green shoots despite the gloom.
Second hand apparel
- Is the banning of importation of second-hand clothes and shoes a panacea to industrialisation in East Africa?.
In the news
- Police shoe scam in Kenya.
- Zimbabwe's Millennium Footwear records uptick in local demand.
Technology
- Shoepack: Making the most of your lasts.
Footwear and the environment
- Can footwear ever give waste the boot?
- 'World's most comfortable shoe' now made from SA invasive trees.
- Is algae the next big performance story in footwear?
Trade fairs and academic conferences
- UITIC: First speakers announced - Making shoes without stitching and lasting and The development of emerging business models.
- Malawi fair invitation.
- Hub facilitates East African sourcing for US companies.
Notice Board
- Obituary for Roger Benjamin.
International
- With store traffic down, H&M throws resources behind digital.
- How President Trump's trade wars with China and Europe could impact footwear firms.
- Crocs shoes design loses EU patent.
- Is China's manufacturing dominance dipping?
Advertisers in this Issue
Chillisource/Shoepack (7), Katz Footwear (5), PMC Group (4), Source Africa (OFC), 20th UITIC International Technical Footwear Congress (2).
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Footwear Industry Articles
- SAFLEC AGM 2026: A year marked by resilience
On behalf of the Board of Directors, it is my pleasure to welcome all our members and stakeholders to the 24th Annual General Meeting of the South African Leather & Footwear Export Council (SAFLEC).The Annual General Meeting provides us with an opportunity not only to reflect on the performance of the Council over the past financial y ...moreAn industry with distinctive material riches, unable to sufficiently convert them into finished goods in a world class way“The project’s purpose,” said Courtney Grant, “is to be a robust, evidence-based strategy to address the leather and general goods sector’s challenges and unlock its growth potential.”The main headings of her presentation were:Creating the groundwork for a National Leather and General Goods Strategy:Fro ...moreA perspective: Perhaps it was an eye-opener for industry players to hear each otherLooking back over the workshop, BMA consultant Justin Snelling wrote: “In terms of our reflections of the workshop, we covered a lot of territory. Perhaps though what was most encouraging was the breadth of participation from different segments of the sector and their willingness, or even excitement, to contribute. We don’t ta ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- Improving the strength and softness of crust leather through pressure treatment
IntroductionRetanning and fatliquoring have a major impact on the characteristics of leather, whereas dyeing and the finishing concentrate on the appearance of the leather. Various retanning agents and fatliquoring agents have been developed to improve the softness and mechanical strength of leather, parameters that are important to the b ...more‘ESG is a global requirement’
Deborah Taylor, Sustainable Leather FoundationShe spoke about the SLF’s role in supporting harmonisation and minimising duplication of effort across the leather value chain, its education and training, development of robust and credible standards, and advocacy of the leather industry.She quoted the first definition of sustainability ...moreCooperation between SMEs, academia and government can find solutions
Dr Cecilia China, AfriTech Organic Leather Co. Ltd, the Nelson Mandela Institution of Science & Technology She said Africa has the hides and skins but lacks organised systems to convert them into competitive products.She described her interactions with the Kiwango Leather Cluster with the goal of producing high quality, eco-frien ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- New OHS regulations coming into force later this year mean PPE needs to be reviewed, too
In March 2025, the Physical Agents Regulations (and their guidelines) and the Noise Exposure Regulations (and their guidelines) of the OHSAct were published, with an 18-month time-period promulgation date to September 2026, allowing employers time to upgrade their Health & Safety requirements to comply with the new published regulatio ...moreFurther controls over the import of safety footwear are on the wayOn 03 August 2026, the Safety Footwear Working Group, led by SAFLIA, submitted a request to Minister Tau (dtic) for interim import control measures in respect of specified safety footwear. The request was strongly supported by organised labour and other industry stakeholders.The application was further strengthened by contributions f ...moreSAPEMA demands action against retailer Curve Gear over selling noncompliant safety footwearThe Southern African Protective Equipment Marketing Association (SAPEMA) has reported retailer Curve Gear to the National Regulator for Compulsory Standards (NRCS) for selling “possibly noncompliant” safety footwear.The allegation is because Curve Gear’s safety footwear doesn’t carry mandatory marking: Its NRCS app ...more
