Publisher of leading trade magazines for the Footwear, Leather-goods, Leather & PPE industries

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 ...more
  • David 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 ...more
  • Mobilising 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 ...more
  • LEATHER’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 ...more
  • Improving 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 ...more
  • Cooperation 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
  • 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 ...more
  • Sam Setter's 'Pills': Over and Again
    The 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 ...more
  • Kenya announces $39 million investment to strengthen livestock production
    Kenya 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 ...more
  • African leather businesses holding LWG and SLF ratings
    As 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 ...more
  • Leather Naturally launches new report on sustainable water management
    Leather 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 ...more
  • Rwanda’s planned leather park moved
    Rwanda’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.  ...more
  • SARLEN: Defining what needs to be done
    The 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  ...more

Footwear Industry Articles

  • Tshepo 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
  • Manufacturer-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 ...more
  • 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 ...more
MORE ARTICLES

Leather Industry Articles

  • LEATHER’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 ...more
  • Luxury or not
    We hear from all sides that the leather industry is not doing too well and the conflict in the Middle East is definitely not improving the situation. The present wars have a huge impact on inflation and hence on the buying power of consumers with negative consequences for the luxury industry whose shares we have seen tumbling at the vario ...more
  • African leather businesses holding LWG and SLF ratings
    As 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 ...more
MORE ARTICLES

PPE Industry Articles

MORE ARTICLES
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