S&V African Leather Magazine Vol. 20 No. 06 June 2026
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IN THIS ISSUE:
03 Sam Setter’s ‘Pills’
- A new quip from Sam Setter in each issue.
05 Upfront
- SA’s 2025 automotive leather exports – down on 2024, but still good, on the face of it.
- Kenya announces $39 million investment to strengthen livestock production.
- African leather businesses holding LWG and SLF ratings.
- Leather Naturally launches new report on sustainable water management.
- Rwanda’s planned leather park moved.
09 Leather, Its Image & Its Place In The World
- Mobilising Africa’s human resource to reinvigorate the regional leather value chain, writes the Sustainable Leather Foundation’s Deborah Taylor.
11 An Eclectic View
- Leather’s Elementary Unit: What helps leather to resist breaking and deformation at low strain, writes correspondent H. Procter.
12 Decoding Tanning Science
- Improving the strength and softness of crust leather through pressure treatment. A review by Dr Clive Jackson-Moss.
14 Weights & Measures
- Compiled by the ISTT.
15 Webinar
- A report on the SARLEN webinar.
18 Statistics
- Preliminary South African trade statistics for April 2026.
Advertisers in this Issue
Authenticae (OFC), International School of Tanning Technology (ISTT) (07), Rolfes Leather Division (02), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (03), Southern African Footwear & Leather Export Council (SAFLEC) (05), Sustainable Leather Foundation (04).
The Next Issue
- The June 2026 issue of S&V African Leather will be out on 10 July. The deadline for contributions is 03 July.
- 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 ...moreDavid Buirski retires (but we’re sure to hear more from him)
David Buirski, the former South African who edited World Leather from 1993 to 2005, and who continued his involvement with the publication and its offshoots until recently, has finally retired because “having turned 90 last December, I guess it was the sensible thing to do. Thirty-three years could be considered a long time.&rd ...moreMobilising Africa’s human resource to reinvigorate the regional leather value chain
In last month’s edition I wrote about mobilising Africa’s livestock to reinvigorate the regional leather value chain, and this article is focussed on mobilising the human resource that is needed to make the most of the abundant livestock populations in the region.On Friday 12th June, newly organised SARLEN (Southern African Re ...moreLEATHER’S ELEMENTARY UNIT
Geoff Attenburrow’s PhD student David M. Wright worked on the behaviour of leather under strain (Attenburrow, 1993; Wright, 1996). They were the first to describe that leather had a “co-operating unit”, a set of structures within leather that helped the leather to resist breaking and to resist deformation at low strain.T ...moreImproving the strength and softness of crust leather through pressure treatment
IntroductionRetanning and fatliquoring have a major impact on the characteristics of leather, whereas dyeing and the finishing concentrate on the appearance of the leather. Various retanning agents and fatliquoring agents have been developed to improve the softness and mechanical strength of leather, parameters that are important to the b ...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 ...moreSARLEN – 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 ...moreSam Setter's 'Pills': Over and AgainThe EU announced that hides and skins could be removed from the EUDR directive's deforestation commodities. Could! Last month, like many others, I thought that the decision had been taken, but that doesn’t seem to be correct. The final decision will be taken after public feedback. Yeah, you read this right: after public feedback. As ...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 ...moreAfrican leather businesses holding LWG and SLF ratingsAs African leather manufacturers strive to grow their exports, the number which have qualified for ratings by the Leather Working Group (LWG) and the Sustainable Leather Foundation (SLF) is growing.By country, LWG lists the following:Algeria: Sarl Tannerie Ain FakrounBurkina Faso: Mona Industry SARL.Egypt: El Montaza Tannery, Piel Color C ...moreLeather Naturally launches new report on sustainable water managementLeather Naturally’s latest educational resource, Sustainable Water Management in the Leather Industry (https://www.leathernaturally.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Leather-Naturally-Sustainable-Water-Management.pdf), is available to download.Developed using insights from recent public consultation, the report explores:* Why water rem ...moreRwanda’s planned leather park movedRwanda’s planned tannery park has been moved from Bugesera District to Gicumbi District, according to several reports. It’s expected to be completed by 2029. The project was first announced in 2024. ...moreSARLEN: Defining what needs to be doneThe SARLEN webinar on 12 June 2026 featured 3 main speakers. The entire presentation can be seen here: : https://drive.google.com/file/d/14xBkPMTqsln-YuqkCXsm_vsazDwNqL83/view?usp=sharing ...moreFootwear Industry Articles
- An industry with distinctive material riches, unable to sufficiently convert them into finished goods in a world class way“The project’s purpose,” said Courtney Grant, “is to be a robust, evidence-based strategy to address the leather and general goods sector’s challenges and unlock its growth potential.”The main headings of her presentation were:Creating the groundwork for a National Leather and General Goods Strategy:Fro ...moreManufacturer-buyer event: Results still to be tallied, but broad enthusiasm for more
The 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 ...moreComrades 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 ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- Beyond the data trap: Why better decisions matter more than just more data
On 1st July 2026 I presented at the FILK Leather Days conference and asked the delegates to consider “Sustainability through a new lens: resetting how we view impacts in the leather value chain”. This month’s article therefore explores this idea a little more with a focus on how we view data and whether it can blind us t ...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 ...moreLEATHER’S ELEMENTARY UNITGeoff Attenburrow’s PhD student David M. Wright worked on the behaviour of leather under strain (Attenburrow, 1993; Wright, 1996). They were the first to describe that leather had a “co-operating unit”, a set of structures within leather that helped the leather to resist breaking and to resist deformation at low strain.T ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- Understanding 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 ...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 ...moreThe concepts behind safety: Why bother with PPE on the ‘Road to Zero Harm’?
For over a decade, the ILO and other such bodies have been pushing this whole notion of "Zero Harm", "Road to Zero" and other such catchy titles, all pushing the idea most probably backed by one-sided research that "Zero Harm" is the only way and can be achieved if you work hard enough.My problem with this id ...more
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