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
- The Chinese sports brand taking on Nike and Adidas
Chinese sportswear brand Anta counts Olympic freestyle skier Eileen Gu among its brand ambassadorsChina's economy was just starting to open up in the late 1980s when a determined high school dropout made his way to Beijing with 600 pairs of shoes.Ding Shizhong had them made in a relative's factory and now he was going to sell them. The mo ...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 ...moreVermont sale completedJohannesburg, Gauteng, SA – After 39 years, former owner Mandy Owen has sold her shares in Vermont Leathercraft Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd to Creek Lab (Pty) Ltd, and officially handed over the business to Prashant Bhaga.In a message on LinkedIn, she wrote: “I would like to thank my husband, Graham, for his invaluable contributio ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- Mobilising Africa’s natural livestock resource to reinvigorate the regional leather value chain
Africa possesses one of the world’s largest livestock populations, yet the continent captures only a fraction of the value generated from leather and leather-based products. From cattle in the East and South Africa, to goats and sheep across North Africa, the continent’s abundant livestock resource represents not only a source ...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
- Statistical 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 ...moreUnderstanding local and international PPE standards: Clarity in a complex landscape
Appearances and claims to the contrary, South Africa’s PPE industry “is largely unregulated, and a high percentage of PPE on the market is not compliant with official standards”, uvex Safety SA MD Christo Nel said, “and that’s a problem at many levels, and for the entire value chain”.He said the fundame ...moreThe 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 ...more
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