S&V African Leather Magazine Vol19 No7 July 2025
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IN THIS ISSUE:
03 Sam Setter’s ‘Pills’
- A new quip from Sam Setter in each issue.
04 Upfront
- Automotive leather exports grow, but ‘entire auto industry at risk from U.S. tariffs, warns NAAMSA’s Dr Norman Lamprecht.
- Foot and mouth disease update in SA: Progress, but most quarantines remain. Karan’s Heidelberg feedlot remains closed.
07 An Eclectic View
- LIRI – origins and end. Correspondent H. Procter describes LIRI’s many high points, and laments the failure to stay open in changing times.
11 Leather, Its Image & Its Place In The World
- Celebrating 5 years of sustainable progress. The Sustainable Leather Foundation’s Deborah Taylor takes a justifiably proud look at an eventful period.
13 Weights & Measures
- Compiled by the ISTT.
Development
- Ethiopia’s LISEC project, 8 years on. Time to invest in the Ethiopian leather value chain, says chief technical advisor Yassin Awale.
Advertisers in this Issue
Authenticae (06), International School of Tanning Technology (OFC) (08), Mimosa (04), Rolfes Leather Division (02), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (05), Southern African Footwear & Leather Export Council (SAFLEC) (03), Sustainable Leather Foundation (OFC).
The Next Issue
- The August 2025 issue of S&V African Leather will be out on 15 August. The deadline for contributions is 08 August.
- LIRI - ORIGINS AND END
The Leather Industries Research Institute (LIRI) was a research, education and training provider located on the Rhodes University campus, based in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. In 1938, the Rhodes University College initiated a small, but successful tanning/hides/skins section in the Chemistry Department. The department was formed as a resp ...moreCelebrating 5 Years of Sustainable Progress!
On Sunday 13th July, SLF was proud to mark a significant milestone — 5 years of the Sustainable Leather Foundation!Since our launch in 2020, we’ve been dedicated to making the leather industry more transparent, responsible, and sustainable. Thanks to our growing worldwide community, we’ve:✅ Developed practical tools to ...moreA call to action: Invest in Ethiopia’s Leather Value Chain
Africa is moving towards greater integration, towards opportunity, and towards self-sustaining growth through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).This presents a timely and strategic opportunity for Ethiopia to leverage its natural renewable resources, its growing technological base, and its skilled workforce to take its plac ...moreSam Setter's 'Pills': For readers who need some wry medicinal humourEUDR - againThe Italian Government is proactively engaged to support the leather industry in its efforts to delete leather from the deforestation directive. This is how one can summarise the message that Mr. Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign minister, submitted to the European Commission regarding leather and deforestation: ‘Eit ...moreAutomotive leather exports grow, but ‘entire auto industry at risk from U.S. tariffs’, warns NAAMSAPretoria, Gauteng, SA – After a long period of decline, South Africa’s exports of stitched leather seats and parts grew consistently from a low of R85 million in 2021 to R288 million in 2024, according to the Automotive Trade Manual 2025, published by the Automotive Business Council (NAAMSA), and written by its executive manag ...moreFoot and mouth disease update: Progress, but most quarantines remainPretoria, Gauteng, SA – FMD has spread to Free State Province, the Department of Agriculture confirmed on 14 July, with a commercial farm near Kroonstad quarantined, with surveillance, vaccination and trace-back to determine the source.“As of July 2025, a total of 270 FMD outbreaks have been reported across 5 provinces in Sout ...moreEthiopia’s LISEC project, 8 years onIn 2018, the United Nations industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) launched its ‘Leather Initiative for Sustainable Employment Creation Project’ (LISEC) in Ethiopia. Funded by the European Union (EU), which invested €13.75 million, the project has been centred around Modjo City.It has focused on reducing migration by ...moreFootwear Industry Articles
- Obituary: 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 ...moreShlobo Designs: Foreign consumers appreciate handwork and the story behind the brand
Durban, KZN, SA – I’m a native of Umlazi’s K section, but I’ve called Seaview home since 1994.My life has been a tapestry of experiences, woven with threads of resilience, creativity, and unwavering determination. My journey took an unexpected turn when I was retrenched while working for the bank with a wealth expe ...moreWe could make sports shoes then, and I’m sure we could make them now
Retired shoemaker Brian Zyster shares more of his memories of ‘the good old days’ of footwear manufacturing in South Africa ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- SARLEN – the journey so far
SARLEN was guided by a model policy framework for the leather value chain, adopted by all member states in 2023. It was supported by Deutsche Zusammenarbeit (German Cooperation), implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), with the SADC Secretariat as the principal sponsor.The building blocks are ass ...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‘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 ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- Selecting the correct protective clothing for a hazardous chemical environment
In South Africa’s diverse industrial landscape, from mining operations in Rustenburg to petrochemical plants in Secunda and manufacturing hubs in Durban, workers are regularly exposed to hazardous chemical environments that demand more than just basic safety measures.The selection of appropriate protective clothing is not only ...moreStatistical shape modelling for population-specific respirator design: Addressing fit failure in South African populations
Respirators 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 ...moreWhat if the respirator you rely on to protect your health never sealed properly?
I had the opportunity to present at the first PPE Conference in RSA, where I shared some early work we) have been exploring towards developing respirator designs better suited to the South African population.Below is a short AI-generated summary of the core message of the presentation.Respirators are often the last line of defence against ...more
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