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S&V African Leather Magazine Vol17 No11 November 2023

This Magazine is sponsored by SAFLIA

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IN THIS ISSUE:

02 Sam Setter’s ‘Pills’
- A new quip from Sam Setter in each issue.

04 Upfront
- Wet blue: Brits Leathers contract tanning only, says Willem Ebersohn.
- Footwear upper leathers: Loss of a wet blue supplier a concern, but Fusion ‘cautiously optimistic’, says Denzil Spolander.
- Crocodile: A lesson from the lower end – when standards go up, they become entrenched, but prices don’t necessarily follow, says Le Croc’s Stefan van As.
- Game skins: Navigating the complex non-trade aspects of the CITES trade convention, says SATTA’s Pieter Swart.
- Game skins: Legacy Exotic Leather plans small plant for top quality, says Johnny Kleynhans, who also comments on ‘problem animal’ control.

10 An Eclectic View
- Powered by the Sun: Solar power can address both sustainability issues and SA’s electricity problems, by H. Procter.

14 Decoding Tanning Science
- The effect of calcium concentration in delimed hides on the efficiency of bating, by the ISTT’s Dr Clive Jackson-Moss.

16 Weights & Measures
- Compiled by the ISTT.

17 Notice Board
- Geoff Holmes is the new vice president of the IULTCS..

18 Trade Statistics
- SA hides, skins, and leather trade statistics for September 2023, issued by SARS.



Advertisers in this Issue
APLF (03), Authenticae (05), Cape Karoo International (07), Evolution Engineering (01), International School of Tanning Technology (ISTT) (09), Mimosa (11), Rolfes Leather Division (13), S&V Calendar (08), S&V Directory (17), Southern African Footwear & Leather Export Council (SAFLEC) (14), Stahl (OFC), Sustainable Leather Foundation (02).

The Next Issue
- The January issue of S&V African Leather will be out on 10 January. The deadline for contributions is 05 January.

  • Game Skins: CITES: Navigating the complex non-trade aspects of a trade convention
    Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – At the time of writing last week, the Sustainable Use Coalition (SUCo-SA) team was in Geneva, Switzerland, to attend the 77th CITES Standing Committee (SC 77) from 06-10 November.The Standing Committee provides policy guidance to the CITES Secretariat concerning the implementation of the Convention. It coordi ...more
  • POWERED BY THE SUN
    Sustainability is a key requirement for tanneries with international customers. Conventional electricity supply in SA is a problem. 2 needs which can be met by the same technology ...more
  • The effect of calcium concentration in delimed hides on the efficiency of bating
    This is part of a series contributed by the International School of Tanning Technology (ISTT) in Grahamstown, E. Cape, SA, summarising complicated research papers into short articles more readily comprehensible to a wider audience.rnrnPart 1. Preparation of delimed hides with different residual concentrations ...more
  • New IULTCS vice president
    Northampton, UK (06 November 2023) – Geoff Holmes has been elected as the vice president of the International Union of Leather Technologists & Chemists (IULTCS) with effect from January 2024.He has a long history in the leather industry, having studied Leather Technology at the Leathersellers College at the University of Northam ...more
  • COP28 & Trade Fairs: Sam Setter's 'Pills' - For readers who need some wry medicinal humour
    On 30 November in Dubai the UN will hold for almost 2 weeks the next Conference Of Parties, better known as COP 28, to discuss global warming and climate change. I wonder how many private planes with a handful of passengers will land in Dubai, like the Secretary General of the UN, like Ursula von der Leyen, and all those heads of states o ...more
  • Wet Blue: Contract tanning only
    Brits, N.W. Province, SA – At Brits Leathers and Rosslyn Tannery, our wet blue plants, we are currently only doing contract tanning for the automotive industry.At OR Leathers, our finishing plant, we are currently only doing contract tanning to crust, and we are not supplying local footwear manufacturers with finished leather.  ...more
  • Footwear upper leathers: Loss of a wet blue supplier a concern, but cautiously optimistic
    Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Fusion is cautiously optimistic for H1/24 with a reasonable order book and some really interesting new developments and opportunities on the local and export markets. Everything depends on SA retailers and their willingness to support the domestic market and the currency valuation and stability for exports.T ...more
  • Crocodile: A lesson from the lower end: When standards go up, they become entrenched, but prices don’t necessarily follow
    Mogwase, N.W. Province, SA – At a macro level, China has slowed, the USA appears to be going through headwinds, and Europe is quiet. There is less concern about the effects of the Ukraine war, but Gaza is an issue. Wars affect the travel industry, which is an important market for luxury brands.In China, which was a secondary market ...more
  • Legacy Exotic Leather plans small plant for top quality
    Bulawayo, Zimbabwe – I would like to advise that I am establishing a new consultancy company with effect from January 2024.Legacy Exotic Leather Specialists (Pvt) Ltd will operate from Bulawayo. The initial focus will be on offering technical consultancy to local companies involved in processing exotic leathers, especially elephant ...more
  • Problem animal control: Sometimes there are simple solutions, but which one is the problem animal?
    Bulawayo, Zimbabwe – There is an increase in human/animal conflict as seen recently. Rural small-scale farmers traditionally plant maize this time of year, which unfortunately attracts animals, elephants being the main intruders.Natural game corridors have been encroached by these subsistence farmers, which inevitably results in &ls ...more

Footwear Industry Articles

  • The showroom pair is not the order
    A shoe on a showroom table is wonderfully persuasive. A buyer can flex the forefoot, press the heel counter, check the stitching, compare the two shoes and turn the pair over to examine the sole. Colour, finish and hand feel are all there to judge.The purchase order may then reduce that pair to a short line: one style number, one colour d ...more
  • 2026 Comrades shoe count: Asics stays top, Adidas up, Nike slides into 4th place
    Marathon shoe counts are among the few footwear statistics available in SA. The Sweat Shop’s Jax Snyman has extracted this year’s Comrades Marathon figures for comparison with last year.His assessment: “Asics up. Adidas properly up. New Balance steady although now 3rd largest. Nike down and drop in rankings to 4th. Sauco ...more
  • Wayne's Phambili range: Practical boots from non-safety to full protection
    Roodepoort, Gauteng, SA – Wayne's Phambili range combines everyday comfort, dependable durability and clearly defined levels of protection in a practical range of PVC work boots. Developed for demanding working environments, the 3-boot lineup makes it easy to choose the protection best suited to the job while delivering the comfort ...more
MORE ARTICLES

Leather Industry Articles

  • ISTT offers free entry level leather course to encourage training
    Grahamstown, E. Cape, SA – The International School of Tanning Technology (ISTT) is offering one of its short online courses, Introduction to the Leather Industry, for free.The course is suitable for entry level tannery staff.It is also suitable for anyone in footwear, leather goods, furniture and upholstery manufacturing, retailing ...more
  • OBLIQUITY
    Shareholder value is usually the result of running a good business, not a reliable operational principle for running one ...more
  • Luxury or not
    We hear from all sides that the leather industry is not doing too well and the conflict in the Middle East is definitely not improving the situation. The present wars have a huge impact on inflation and hence on the buying power of consumers with negative consequences for the luxury industry whose shares we have seen tumbling at the vario ...more
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PPE Industry Articles

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