S&V African Leather Magazine Vol18 No9 September 2024
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IN THIS ISSUE:
02 Sam Setter’s ‘Pills’
- A new quip from Sam Setter in each issue.
04 Upfront
- Retail attitudes to footwear leather: A mixed picture.
06 An Eclectic View
- Anaerobic leather: There’s more to this than finding ancient Roman sandals in waterlogged soil, writes correspondent H. Procter.
09 Leather, Its Image & Its Place In The World
- Leather in an evolving automotive market: Yes, there are challenges, but leather remains a popular choice, writes the Sustainable Leather Foundation’s Deborah Taylor.
11 Decoding Tanning Science
- Enzymatic removal of proteoglycans in hides promotes opening-up of collagen fibre bundles: Review by Dr Clive Jackson-Moss of a paper in JALCA.
14 Weights & Measures
- Compiled by the ISTT.
15 Notice Board
- IULTCS Young Leather Scientist Grant Programme 2025 announced.
- Obituary: Roger Rowswell – a gentle, decent man who contributed to a better environment professionally and personally.
Advertisers in this Issue
Authenticae (08), International School of Tanning Technology (ISTT) (OFC), Mimosa (03), Rolfes Leather Division (05), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (07), Southern African Footwear & Leather Export Council (SAFLEC) (04), Sustainable Leather Foundation (10).
- ANAEROBIC LEATHER
Anaerobic leather - most people have heard of the leather find that was a shoe or a bag from antiquity, stored in a preservation condition that has allowed the relic to last several hundred years without being broken down. Is this the model of how, as a material, leather can be stored in a fossilised form taking carbon out of the atmosphe ...moreLeather in an evolving automotive market…
Much has been written about the changes that our industry is dealing with, as it undergoes significant transformation to adapt to an evolving market shaped by consumer demand, technological innovation, environmental concerns, and regulation. ...moreA gentle, decent man who contributed to a better environment professionally and personally
Obituary: Roger Alec Rowswell – Somerset West Municipality, Cape Town Municipality, Leather Industries Research Institute, Tannery Environmental Consultancy Services (12/01/1948 – 20/08/2024) ...moreEnzymatic removal of proteoglycans in hides promotes opening-up of collagen fibre bundles
IntroductionWhen a hide loses moisture, the proteoglycans present in the hide stick the collagen fibres together. This negatively impacts the penetration of water and other chemicals into the hides during processing, and also the opening-up of the collagen fibres and hence the softness of the leather. It is therefore ideal to remove prote ...moreSam Setter's 'Pills': For readers who need some wry medicinal humour" HilariousThe industrial promotion section of the Rwandan Ministry of Trade and Industry has announced that the country intends to develop a tannery park in the Bugesera special economic zone near the border with Burundi. When one talks about a tannery park, one imagines a minimum of a dozen tanneries, and another dozen shoe and lea ...moreRetail attitudes to leather: A mixed pictureCarletonville, Gauteng, SA – Mohammed Laher, sole proprietor of 6-store mini-chain Textile Wholesalers, said leather remained a priority for his customers.He said formal footwear – which is all leather – was “a much smaller category than before”, but that “the better end of casual footwear is predominan ...moreIULTCS Young Leather Scientist Grant Programme 2025 announcedThe IULTCS Young Scientist Grant Programme for 2025 is underway. The details follow and further information can be found on the IULTCS website https://iultcs.org/ or by contacting the IUR chair, Dr Volker Rabe (Volker.rabe@tfl.com).Background:The IULTCS is committed to co-operation between the individual member societies and to providing ...moreFootwear Industry Articles
- Obituary: Vic Jablowski, BUSM, Protech V (03/09/1953-11/12/2025): One of those who survived BU’s closure
Durban, KZN, SA – My dad – was AMAZING.Born in 1953, he married Evelyn in 1979. My sister, Luanne Hough, was born in 1980, and I followed in 1983.A family man who made sure he supported his family in the most wonderful ways; he was also a loyal company man who worked most of his life for British United Shoe Machinery.But when ...moreObituary: Joe McGinley, Conshu (14/04/1936-20/05/2026) He ran an empire, but kept a human touch
Somerset West, W. Cape, SA – Joseph Pascal McGinley, the former Conshu director who died in May, a month after his 90th birthday, was a larger-than-life character who was renowned during his career in SA for his kindness, and who lived life to the full.Born in Letterkenny, Donegal, Ireland, to Joseph and Madeline McGinley, both doct ...moreTshepo opens new store at Mall of Africa
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA (02 June 2026) — South African fashion brand Tshepo has opened its second store at Mall of Africa.Tshepo, founded by Tshepo Mohlala in Victoria Yards 10 years ago, specialises in locally made denim jeans.“Victoria Yards remains central to Tshepo's identity, serving as the bran ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- SA’s 2025 automotive leather exports: Down on 2024, but still good, on the face of it
Figures from NAAMSA’s Automotive Trade Manual 2026 Automotive components – exports by product Component category 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 % of total export value Ran ...moreKenya announces $39 million investment to strengthen livestock productionKenya plans to launch a 5 billion-shilling ($38.6 million) investment program to modernize its livestock sector and strengthen one of the country's most important rural industries.President William Ruto announced the initiative on June 1 during a visit to Wajir County in northern Kenya.According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the program ...moreSARLEN aims for business and regulatory advocacy for the leather value chain across SADC
The formation of the Southern African Regional Leather Network (SARLEN) is a process to formalise a voice for commercial, entrepreneurial and developmental associations in the leather value chain (LVC) for the region.The leather value chain has been recognised in SADC as a key entrepreneurial opportunity that can adjust to the scale of th ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- The PPE Conference – PPE isn’t optional, it’s essential: A review
Leighton Bennett, the Safety First Association chairperson and a SHE and risk management consultantThe hosts of this first PPE Conference held in South Africa, were the Safety First Association and SAPEMA, on the 10 and 11 March 2026, at the Emperor’s Palace, in Kempton Park.This conference objectives were to provide a unique opport ...moreRealPPE 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. ...moreRealPPE Marketplace: Where safety meets smarter procurement
RealPPE 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. ...more
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