S&V African Leather Magazine Vol17 No11 November 2023
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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 conventionPretoria, 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 ...morePOWERED BY THE SUNSustainability 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 ...moreThe effect of calcium concentration in delimed hides on the efficiency of batingThis 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 ...moreNew IULTCS vice presidentNorthampton, 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 ...moreCOP28 & Trade Fairs: Sam Setter's 'Pills' - For readers who need some wry medicinal humourOn 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 ...moreWet Blue: Contract tanning onlyBrits, 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. ...moreFootwear upper leathers: Loss of a wet blue supplier a concern, but cautiously optimisticCape 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 ...moreCrocodile: A lesson from the lower end: When standards go up, they become entrenched, but prices don’t necessarily followMogwase, 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 ...moreLegacy Exotic Leather plans small plant for top qualityBulawayo, 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 ...moreProblem 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
- Manufacturer-buyer event: Among the retailer commentsKim Cunniffe, Kingsmead ShoesOur buyers found some suppliers they were unaware of, and a few possibilities in terms of product. We haven’t yet taken this forward, but we will do so.Hassen Ismail, Fashion WorldIt was more-or-less what you expect of local manufacturing in terms of styling, quality, and price.We have asked for samples. ...moreNew generation nonwoven components lead the way towards biodegradable shoesCompostable and biodegradable footwear is becoming a reality.The nova-Institut für politische und ökologische Innovation GmbH in Hürth, Germany, has published an updated version of its poster, 'Biodegradable Polymers in Various Environments', and project manager Kristijan Mršić told Shoes & Views that several of ...moreManufacturer-buyer event: Among the manufacturer commentsThe 2-day Retail Buyer Engagement & Manufacturer Onboarding Programme on 01 and 02 July was part of an effort to kickstart the R-CTFL Masterplan – which, from a footwear perspective at least, has appeared stalled.It was sponsored by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and implemented through the R-CTFL Masterplan Footwea ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- SADC Leather Forum unites 16 member states to strengthen the regional leather industryThe Southern African Development Community’s Regional Leather Forum met in Durban, South Africa, in August. Nerisha Jairaj and Jacob Nyathi explain different aspects. ...moreThe leather value chain offers opportunities for all SADC countriesThe Southern African Regional Leather Network (SARLEN) and the SADC Leather Forum present a great opportunity for the development of the leather value chains (LVCs) in all or most SADC states, whose LVCs are at different stages of development.in Zimbabwe we already have a well-structured LVC coordinated by an apex body, the Zimbabwe Leath ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- RealPPE Marketplace: Where safety meets smarter procurementRealPPE Marketplace is a 100% black women-owned B2B PPE marketplace built for South African industry. Founded after years of witnessing safety officers and procurement teams lose time to fragmented suppliers, inconsistent pricing, and missing documentation, RealPPE was created to bring structure and reliability to industrial PPE sourcing. ...moreStatistical shape modelling for population-specific respirator design: Addressing fit failure in South African populationsRespirators are widely regarded as the last line of defence against hazardous airborne exposures. Whether protecting healthcare workers from tuberculosis, laboratory personnel from infectious samples, or workers exposed to carcinogenic dusts and fumes, respirators are often relied upon when other controls cannot eliminate exposure. This r ...moreChina-made firefighting equipment now needs verification of conformity with SANS standardsPretoria, Gauteng, SA – Firefighting equipment is among the 25 product categories published on 01 April by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition for a mandatory Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) Programme.The system will require certain goods shipped from China to be tested and certified before they enter the ...more
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