S&V African Leather Magazine Vol19 No10 October 2025
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IN THIS ISSUE:
03 Sam Setter’s ‘Pills’
- A new quip from Sam Setter in each issue.
05 Upfront
- Foot and mouth disease: Low automotive demand ‘a blessing’.
- Fungicide launch planned, writes Leather Systems’ SA’s Tony Stottelaar.
- When textile mills are down, hopefully tanneries are up, writes Fredisco Dyes & Chemicals’ Matt Schneider.
- Keeping it in the family: FC&T Supplies’ Hannes Harding explains changes.
- Key changes in TFL’s leadership team.
09 An Eclectic View
- Gelatine industry – leather users have long joked about good it would be to have square hides…thanks to the demand for gelatine, maybe that’s not so far away, writes correspondent H. Procter.
11 Leather, Its Image & Its Place In The World
- African tanneries are paving the way for more sustainable leather manufacture, writes the Sustainable Leather Foundation’s Deborah Taylor.
12 Weights & Measures
- Compiled by the ISTT.
13 Statistics
- Preliminary South African trade statistics for August 2025.
Advertisers in this Issue
Authenticae (OFC), International School of Tanning Technology (ISTT) (06), Mimosa (02), Rolfes Leather Division (04), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (10), Southern African Footwear & Leather Export Council (SAFLEC) (07), Sustainable Leather Foundation (08).
- Key changes in TFL´s leadership team
Langenfeld, Germany – Kaija Korolainen was appointed Group Chief People Officer (CPO) on 01 July and Samer Al Jabi was appointed Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) on 01 September.Kaija has a strong track record of strategic HR leadership across multiple industries and geographies. At TFL, she is responsible for ...moreGELATINE INDUSTRY
Leather users have long joked about how good it would be to have square hides…thanks to the demand for gelatine, maybe that’s not so far away ...moreSam Setter's 'Pills': For readers who need some wry medicinal humourDevelopment aid: What happened in Ethiopia demonstrates that plans by governments, UNIDO and NGOs that don’t take into account economic realities will failWhat follows is just an example of many similar situations in the whole spectrum of development aid for the leather industry in a variety of countries and in Africa in particular. ...moreFoot and mouth disease: Low automotive demand ‘a blessing’Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – “Obviously FMD has an effect, you only have to look at the meat prices to see that,” said Gerrie de Jager, MD of Brits Leather Group’s Rosslyn Tannery. “All the red tape and protocols for biosecurity associated with FMD add further costs to a stressed market.“Fortunately, the Sta ...moreFungicide launch plannedPort Elizabeth, E. Cape, SA – We are still fortunate to have a solid business in difficult times. But we are positive. Always on the lookout for new opportunities.We do actually have a new fungicide that we are launching. Locally manufactured with international backing, very modern technology. More in the next issue. ...moreWhen textile mills are down, hopefully tanneries are upDurban, KZN, SA – Fredisco Dyes and Chemicals (Pty) Ltd is fortunate to be servicing clients in both the leather and textile industries. With a bit of luck, when one industry does poorly, the other does a bit better! Currently our leather customers seem to be doing well. We have seen strong demand for our leather dyes from tanneries ...moreKeeping it in the familyBoksburg, Gauteng, SA – During 2022/23 my wife fell ill with Covid and we decided to get our daughter, Tania Ellis, involved in the business to enable me to spend more time with Alice. Alice eventually passed away 17th January 2024 after 55 years of married life and as we’re all getting older, I decided to keep Tania on, with ...moreFootwear Industry Articles
- Comrades Expo 2026
Durban, KZN, SA – The exhibitor list at the Comrades Expo, from 11-13 June, has shown an evolution in the types of companies exhibiting. Just 1 running footwear supplier, Ikhambi Distribution, promoting its Hoka brand, was there.Technical sock suppliers, however, were well represented, with Balega, Falke, Sox Footwear and The Hirst ...moreNew generation nonwoven components lead the way towards biodegradable shoes
Compostable 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 ...moreThe showroom pair is not the orderA 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
Leather Industry Articles
- SADC Leather Forum unites 16 member states to strengthen the regional leather industry
The Southern African Development Community’s Regional Leather Forum met in Durban, South Africa, in August. Nerisha Jairaj and Jacob Nyathi explain different aspects. ...moreSam Setter's 'Pills': You have to be very clever to understand this document, but hopefully it will do some goodIn June, UNIDO launched an impressive document called “Guideline”. It is a very detailed, environment oriented, technical and scientific document where the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCP) play a prominent role. The document, peer reviewed, has been developed for UNIDO with the main contributor ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- RealPPE 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. ...moreFurther controls over the import of safety footwear are on the wayOn 03 August 2026, the Safety Footwear Working Group, led by SAFLIA, submitted a request to Minister Tau (dtic) for interim import control measures in respect of specified safety footwear. The request was strongly supported by organised labour and other industry stakeholders.The application was further strengthened by contributions f ...moreSAPEMA demands action against retailer Curve Gear over selling noncompliant safety footwearThe Southern African Protective Equipment Marketing Association (SAPEMA) has reported retailer Curve Gear to the National Regulator for Compulsory Standards (NRCS) for selling “possibly noncompliant” safety footwear.The allegation is because Curve Gear’s safety footwear doesn’t carry mandatory marking: Its NRCS app ...more
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