Categoria: Leather

Lineapelle: Recovering the vitality of the tanning sector

Content published by: World Footwear

The last edition of Lineapelle, held in Milan from the 22nd to the 24th of February, welcomed more than 960 exhibitors from 31 countries, who were visited by more than 13 000 buyers. According to the organization, the 99th edition of one of the most important exhibitions of leather, accessories, components and materials for the fashion and luxury industries, offered a “reassuring and long-awaited sign of vitality” to the entire supply chain in the context of a new normality. Despite the absence of Asian visitors, the organizers highlighted the entries from France, Spain, the US, Turkey, Germany, the UK and Portugal.

“This edition of Lineapelle, which presented the trends for Spring Summer 2023, confirmed its dominant role as a reference point in the exhibition context of the fashion & luxury industry and well represented an increasingly selective market, oriented towards the search for maximum quality and service”, commented the president of Lineapelle, Gianni Russo. The “return to freedom” and the rediscovery of nature, beauty, quality and durability, characterized the last edition of Lineapelle.

Splenda Leather, present in Lineapelle

Splenda Leather was present at this new edition of Lineapelle. It was a new opportunity to personally interact with customers and colleagues from the sector, as well as a great opportunity to learn about the new trends that will guide the tanning processes in the coming years. In Lineapelle, signs of recovery of normal activity prior to the pandemic could be seen and, above all, the will of the tanning sector to grow and advance. At Splenda Leather, in conclusion, we are satisfied with the progressive recovery of regular activity in the celebration of fairs and we trust that normal dynamics will soon be recovered.

You can read the original content HERE.

Leather and the consumer

Content published by: Leather Naturally

New research uncovers the consumer understanding of leather and its place in a society committed to making better choices for the environment. The pandemic and graphic images showing the effects of climate change are having an impact on consumer behaviour. Attitudes and habits are changing at pace and so Leather UK, Leather Naturally and the Institute for Creative Leather Technologies (ICLT) have collaborated in the commissioning of research to better understand consumer knowledge around leather and its origins as a by-product of the food industry.

The result is a complete document that answers different questions that can help to better understand the current consumer mentality. Some of the topics discussed are the following.

What is ‘vegan leather’?

The lack of knowledge was surprising. More than half (54%) or the 2,000 respondents did not know what ‘vegan leather’ is made from, but 74% agreed that ‘it should be easy to see what I am buying and that labelling should not be misleading.’

Where does leather come from?

Leather is a by-product of the meat industry, which if not used would go to waste, however only 24% of those surveyed were aware of this fact.

Leather is valued for its quality and longevity

What is clear is that consumers who own and use leather value it for its positive benefits, with 67% saying it could be trusted to last a lifetime and 53% citing its comfort and practicality as reasons to buy.

The move to slow fashion

The report also investigates the world leather exists in, by exploring emerging purchase behaviours as well as attitudes to new forms of consumption, such as rental and pre-loved, currently making headlines in fashion, homeware and other industries. It examines a new age of thrift, a ‘make do and mend’ culture and the encouraging signs of a move away from fast, disposable fashion and consumer goods.

These trends bode well for a high-quality material like leather, which lasts a lifetime.

The document can be downloaded HERE.

And you can read the original content HERE.

First massive online Tanning Technician Course in Europe

Original content posted by: Lederpiel.

The A3 Leather Innovation Center of the University of Lleida (UdL), located in Igualada (Barcelona), offers a new massive online Tanning Technician Course, the first of its kind in Europe. MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are online courses aimed at a large number of participants through the Internet according to the principle of “open and massive” education.

Tanning Technician training consists of 25 hours of virtual classes and 25 face-to-face teaching hours. It has been launched after a pilot test carried out in several companies in the leather sector in Igualada, which has made it possible to detect their needs and create a specific action protocol to cover them. In this training, general and specific knowledge will be acquired in the fields of leather production processes, leather chemistry, wet processing operations, mechanics, finishing, leather quality, sustainability through technologies clean available and monitoring of risks.

Skills4Smart TCLF
The A3 Center promotes this course within the framework of the European project Skills4Smart Textiles, Clothing, Leather and Footwear (TCLF) Industries 2030 together with Euratex, an organization that works to achieve a favorable environment for the textile and clothing sector within the European Union (EU), and other European partners. The UdL and the Igualada’s research center are 2 of the 115 institutions, organizations and companies that have recently signed the TCLF Competence Pact, committing to improve the attractiveness of the textile, fashion, leather and footwear sectors and to invest in the retraining of workers, integrating ecological and digital skills.

From the beginning of this year 2022, the European Commission will offer the signatories of the Pact for Skills to benefit from collaboration at EU, national and regional level and, in particular, access to networks, knowledge, guidance and resource centers. One of the objectives of this pact is to design and deploy courses that promote the latest technologies, tools and digital skills and encourage activities of durability, repair and waste management (green skills), in particular circular design skills. It is in this line that the Tanning Technician course has been promoted, which will be taught online and with internships in companies in Igualada.

You can read the original post HERE.

TCLF Pact for Skills: putting people at the heart of the industry’s competitiveness

Original content posted by: COTANCE.

118 organisations have signed the Textiles, Clothing, Leather and Footwear (TCLF) Pact for Skills, an initiative promoted by the European Commission and promoted by EURATEX, COTANCE and CEC, the umbrella organisations of these industries in Europe. The signatories acknowledge the skills challenge in the textiles-leather ecosystem, and commit to invest in reskilling and upskilling workers, integrating green and digital skills and improving the attractiveness of the sector. Signatories of the Pact will benefit from networking, guidance and resources offered by the EC to implement the targets which are proposed in the Pact.

The Pact for Skills is part of the EU Industrial Strategy, addressing the competitiveness of 14 critical ecosystems, including the one on textiles, leather and footwear. The main aim of the Pact is maximising the impact of investments in improving existing skills (upskilling) and training in new skills (reskilling). To reach such an ambitious goal, the Pact gathers various actors in the TCLF sectors: industry, employers, social partners, national and regional authorities, education and training providers. These actors should work together and invest in large-scale skills partnerships, guarantee exchange of best practices and increase the attractiveness of the sector.

Specifically, the TCLF Pact for Skills focuses on 5 objectives and for each of them, the signatories identified a certain number of target actions:

  1. Promoting a culture of lifelong learning for all: one of the actions is to design and roll out courses promoting latest technologies and digital tools such as VR and AI (digital skills) and promoting durability, repair and waste management activities (green skills), in particular circular design skills.
  2. Building a strong skills partnership with relevant stakeholders: signatories foresee to build regional and cross-sectoral partnerships between industry, education providers and authorities, which are adapted to their specific needs.
  3. Monitoring skills supply/demand and anticipating skills needs: to reach it, industry, policy and education stakeholders will establish the TCLF Skills Observatory.
  4. Working against discrimination and for gender equality and equal opportunities: signatories will launch a TCLF manifesto of diversity and a supporting initiative to improve the gender balance and ensure equal opportunities for all.
  5. Raising awareness & attractiveness on the TCLF industries, i.a. though dedicated information campaigns, showcasing the opportunities in the sector and promoting mobility for young workers.

As of early 2022, the European Commission will offer signatories of the Pact for Skills to benefit from collaboration at EU, national and regional levels and in particular gain access to networking, knowledge and guidance & resource hubs.

Download the TCLF Pact for Skills

You can read the original content HERE.

Leather, a gift from nature

Original content posted by: COTANCE.

According to FAO data, there are around 1,600 million cattle around the world, 1,150 million sheep and 1,000 million goats.

The reasons for having animals are multiple, ranging from raising them for the production of milk and meat, to using them as a source of social prestige, assets, traction force or as a means of transportation.

Cattle transform grass and leaves that man cannot assimilate into highly nutritious food. In the EU, almost 50% of its forage comes from grasslands; the rest is made up of feed from forage crops, crop residues, oilseed cakes, by-products and around 13% of cereals. Livestock keeps our pastures and their biodiversity in good condition.

Animal welfare standards are essential and the EU Animal Welfare Policy includes the “Five freedoms for animal welfare in animal husbandry“. Animal welfare is an ethical duty. An obligation that only has advantages; only well cared for and healthy animals produce quality milk and, at the end of their lives, tasty meat. Furthermore, only well-treated animals have healthy leather or fur, which can be processed by tanners to obtain a beautiful leather.

On the contrary, the lack or the poor welfare of the animals only have adverse consequences. If there is suffering of the animals, also the farmers suffer losses and, at the end of the chain, a tanner who does not obtain a quality raw material. Animal diseases, parasite attacks, skin lesions or allergies are revealed when hides are transformed into leather.

Tanners can read hides and skins like an open book. They can identify how the animal has been treated during its life and whether the slaughter and skinning have been done professionally. The fewer defects they find, the better the animals have been treated.

A good quality hide produces a good quality leather. Whenever possible, European tanners select and choose only the best. They invest time, resources and efforts in transparency and traceability to feed information on defects into their initial supply chains and help continually improve quality through better animal welfare.

More quality leather means a more sustainable value chain; less waste, better ethics and more prosperity for all.

8 benefits of real leather

Original content posted by: Leather Naturally.

The leather industry is creating a product that is both natural and long lasting – leather is unique in its ability to combine beauty, comfort and practicality:

1. Reduces waste: leather is a natural by-product

Modern leather manufacturing recycles over 270 million cow hides each year. These are a by-product of the food industry and without the ability of the leather industry to transform them into leather, over 7 million tonnes would go to landfill with huge environmental and biological impact. Leather makes a sustainable contribution to a society that needs to consume less, reuse more and a recycle everything.

2. Long-lasting: good leather ages well and lasts 

Well made leather lasts a long time and unlike most man-made, or synthetic materials it gets better with age, acquiring a depth of patina and wear pattern pattern that is individual to the user – much like a favourite pair of jeans. As we mindfully look for ways to lower consumption, leather very much fits with the ethos of ‘buy less, buy better’. Investing in quality leather products, is investing for the future.

3. Repairable: easy to repair and maintain 

The journey towards sustainability starts with products that can be repaired for longevity of use. Leather needs very little in the way of life-time maintenance and it easy to do at home, it does not draw heavily on resources for laundering and drying for example and we increasingly see the revival of artisan skills/offering repair services for treasured leather goods.

4. Recyclable: leather and leather by-products can be recycled

Leather trimmings from the manufacturing process can be repurposed as stuffing, (into boxing punch bags for example) or combined with other materials to make composite products such as leatherboard, which is used for insoles and heel inserts in footwear. Leather at end of life can be ground down to use in this way too. At the very end of its life leather will biodegrade, depending on type in between 10 & 50 years. We see leather trims being creatively incorporated into wall coverings, plus more and more companies are recycling the leather component from footwear and leathergoods into something new.

5. Vesatile: leather has many varied end uses

The skills of the leather makers take the same basic raw material and turn it into a many different ‘fabrics’ with different qualities and benefits. Leather can be engineered to be durable enough for furniture yet soft enough for comfort footwear. It will make the finest dress gloves or protective, abrasion resistant motorcycling gloves. Leather makes the most supple of jackets or the firmest of walking boots.

6. Comfortable: leather has a natural comfort

Leather has a ‘breathability’ that more easily allows body temperature to be regulated, it will naturally absorb and hold moisture away from the skin until it can evaporate to the outside. It will also mould to the wearer – whether it’s a glove, a shoe, leather jacket or wallet that’s been carried in a back pocket for years, leather conforms to its wearer for a very individual comfort and fit.

7. Beautiful: leather is naturally beautiful 

Leather has a natural beauty that, unlike many materials, improves with age. Although every hide or skin is different, leather manufacturers work to bring out its best qualities, whether that’s a completely aniline or ‘naked’ appearance to one that is expertly finished to combine durability and easy care.

8. Luxurious: the handle of leather adds luxury 

Leather has long been a component of luxury goods, from covetable handbags to footwear and clothing. It has a distinctive touch and wear quality that cannot be replicated and for that reason it is often combined with hardedged technology to provide a more luxurious and personal feel to an item that is otherwise anonymous. As with all natural materials it creates a user experience that is more emotional, less functional.

You can read the original content HERE.

And you can download the factsheet HERE.

Genuine leather, key in reducing the environmental footprint of the fashion industry

Original content posted by: RealLeather.

The enormous environmental impact of the fashion industry has been highlighted by research by the UK’s Royal Society for Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce (RSA).  It found that half (49 per cent) of 100,000 sampled products from online retailers were made entirely of new plastics. Low cost and disposable, these can quickly end up in landfill.

As consumers look at sustainability, the Leather and Hide Council of America (LHCA) is campaigning to see the millions of surplus hides, currently burnt or thrown away, used instead to deliver long lasting leather goods. It sets out some of the key figures in its new video short that can be viewed below.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change calculates that the fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions, an impact compounded by pollution caused by production of synthetic materials which ranges from chemical waste to microplastics. The US leather industry uses 83% of the hides from dairy and meat, some 27.5 million hides per year, and is committed to ensuring that the remaining 17% (5.5 million) are not burnt or sent to landfill but used to make clothing or shoes.

You can read the original post HERE.

The urgent need of the leather industry to communicate and explain itself

Original content posted by: LEATHER CLUSTER BARCELONA.

Last October, the Leather Cluster Barcelona organized a conference at the Adoberia Bella in Igualada, where the main lines of communication that should guide the sector in the short and medium term were presented. A participatory session open to the entire value chain of the leather industry in Catalonia with the aim of sharing key messages, story, pillars of content and channels to highlight the leather as a benchmark for circular economy and sustainable fashion.

During the day, which aroused a lot of interest in the leather sector, the cluster highlighted the urgent obligation of the leather industry to explain itself, to communicate and to make itself known. Leather Cluster Barcelona detailed the work it is doing to work on communication proactively with the aim of helping to change the current perception that an important part of society has about the industry, often skewed, as as a result of anti-leather campaigns.

The session also explained the need for the leather sector worldwide to share knowledge, weave collaborations and generate synergies to meet the great communicative challenge of reaching the general population and the consumer in particular. A strategy with the aim of communicating to the world, working from local to global action, to contact and reach all audiences. Generating content to inform society and that can be used by other associations and agents in the leather sector from around the world to reach society in general, providing information for, where appropriate, a responsible and sustainable purchase.

You can read the original post HERE.

International leather industry calls on COP26 to reduce reliance on fossil-fuels, prioritise natural materials

Original content posted by: COTANCE.

COTANCE, along with 30 other international leather industry organizations, today called on the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) to have a fresh look at natural materials. The “Leather Manifesto” asks the COP26 to recognise the cyclical, climate-efficient characteristics of natural fibres and their aptitude to reduce the climate impacts of consumer products.

“Natural fibres are part of the biogenic carbon cycle and as such are comprised of carbon that has been in the atmosphere for a millennia,” the Leather Manifesto states. “These readily available raw materials, when ethically and properly produced, are an important replacement for fossil fuels, reducing the need for its extraction and retaining more carbon in the earth. Furthermore, at the end of life, properly produced natural materials will biodegrade, limiting their impact and mitigating harmful emissions, such as microplastic pollution, often associated with synthetic materials.”

The signatories further note that leather risks being penalised because of a lack of understanding of its nature. Producers of leather substitutes, often fossil fuel-based synthetic alternatives, use this confusion to make unsubstantiated claims about their sustainability.

“Leather exists because Mankind discovered a way to transform a residue of meat production into a durable material that would otherwise rot causing harm to human health and the environment. Can we afford losing this beautiful, natural and renewable resource that has been with us since the eve of time?” said COTANCE President Manuel Rios (INPELSA, Spain).

You can read the original post HERE.

A modern tannery is a state-of-the-art facility

Original content posted by: ONE4LEATHER.

The leather industry has, for decades, been at the forefront of innovation in sustainable technologies. It has helped manufacturers reduce their carbon footprint, but also produce leathers that are eco-friendlier produced and free of VOCs. Yet, the public image of tanneries is often very different.

When you think of a leather tannery, you are likely to have an image in your mind of an open pit filled with liquid. Hides are hanging from racks around these as workers in shorts and t-shirts handle the substances used to produce leather. And that’s as far from the truth as it gets in how leather today is produced in safe, state-of-the-art facilities, yet for unclear reasons, media reports keep featuring pictures of tourist attractions or third-world facilities. Let’s see what a modern tannery looks like.

Watch the animation below:

Especially today, with growing meat consumption and a limited availability of resources, reusing materials we have in a safe and controlled manner, is vital. Animal hide are leftover in abundance and modern tanneries turn this by-product into quality leathers with minimal impact.

You can read the original post HERE.