LBizMarketIntelligence_020925

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Leatherbiz Market Intelligence executive summary: • • • •

• • •

Chinese consumers are currently playing a decisive role for the leather pipeline Car sales there are developing very positively Leather plays a more important role in car interiors in China than in Europe If efforts to convince consumers to buy leather have yielded little or no result, the industry should concentrate on finished product manufacturers Plastic is rightly criticised Other products that do not use fossil-based raw materials are not usable at scale This should leave the door wide open for a renaissance for leather

MARKET INTELLIGENCE

A

fter the summer holiday, we are now transitioning into anticipation mode. In Europe in particular, it has become almost normal to expect major events to happen immediately after the holidays. But they never actually happen.

The scenario for the next two weeks initially envisages the return of the leather industry in the Mediterranean countries next week.

Added to this is the All China Leather Exhibition in Shanghai (September 3-5). It seems that fewer and fewer international exhibitors and visitors are attending this event.

In terms of the international mood, there will be few impressions and reports to draw on, and the fair will become more of a national Chinese event.

Only a tour of the halls that are not reserved for overseas exhibitors will probably give an impression of what to make of the exhibition.

It is conceivable that a lot of exhibition space could be occupied by exhibitors who are not directly related to the leather pipeline. Added to this, of course, is the question exhibitors attending only so as not to give a negative impression on Chinese industry. Let us not forget that the Chinese government is currently doing everything it can to stimulate local consumption, and negative perceptions of exhibitions that are essentially related to private consumption would hardly be beneficial. Entrepreneurs are well aware of what they should and should not do to preserve good will.

In two weeks’ time, we will be wiser. If we are lucky, things will turn out differently than expected and Chinese industry and the Chinese economy will once again be the catalyst for a trend reversal. Admittedly, it does not look like that at the moment, but we

should not be completely negative. Why? First of all, many statistical figures in China are not exclusively negative when it comes to the leather sector as a whole. Car sales are developing very positively, and we know that leather, although not essential, plays a greater role there than in Europe, for example.

In addition, the Chinese stock market has developed very positively in recent months, and this has also been noted by private investors. The number of share portfolios is increasing again. For many years, only investments in real estate were attractive to investors in China because property prices had been rising steadily until the crash. After that, people were very cautious. As a result, there are now extremely high savings balances in China, and people are looking for investment opportunities. At the moment, the stock market is enjoying a certain degree of attractiveness again.

A better stock market does not mean selling more leather products. However, Chinese consumers have always been very mooddriven in their consumption behaviour, more so than anywhere else. People are only willing to consume more again if there is more confidence in future prosperity. If the Chinese government can overcome this hurdle, the conditions would be relatively good. So here, too, we find ourselves in a state of anticipation, because the Chinese government’s further decisions and plans in October will certainly play an important role.

We remain of the opinion that Chinese consumers are currently playing a decisive role for the leather pipeline.

In general, there have been no particularly significant events in the last two weeks, which was ultimately to be expected. Of course, there have been a number of political decisions and events, but these have not had

a direct impact on our sector. The best news was the US president’s decision to suspend the increased tariffs on China for another 90 days.

Otherwise, expectations remain unchanged.

The coming weeks will see the usual signs of production picking up again and decisions being made about which new orders can be planned for the coming months. Decisions and information about this will probably not be available until mid-October.

Like it or not, leather remains a product that is very much driven by consumption, but it is not among most people’s basic needs. This means that sentiment plays a decisive role, not only in China but also in other regions. In Europe, the situation for additional and nonessential consumption is definitely not positive, for many reasons.

If the overall economic environment is currently insufficient to trigger a noticeable and effective improvement in demand from consumers, then once again the only option is to convince manufacturers to increase their use of leather in finished products.

Unfortunately, there has been no real change in the fundamentals here either. Of course, we have written many times about the success of some brands, but unfortunately there are few signs of this success spreading. The properties and value of leather should speak for themselves, but other factors still dominate the decision-making of potential users of leather in their products.

It remains completely inexplicable to us why it is not possible to agree on a common strategy in the leather industry. There is a need to move away from defending the material, sometimes seeming even to apologise for it. We should not always be discussing leather substitutes (and perhaps even fearing them). We should communicate openly that leather should substitute plastic.

Plastic is rightly criticised; other products that do not use fossil-based raw materials are not really usable at scale, and this should leave the door wide open for a renaissance for leather.

However, if we focus our efforts in the wrong direction and continue to devote more energy to certifications and audits that bring no increase in the use of leather, it will probably become even more difficult to fight the general trend.

The huge obstacle remains the fragmentation of the global leather industry and the fact that, despite all the lip service, it is not possible to agree on a central strategy with a focus on the consumer. Unfortunately, all efforts in recent years to successfully position the value, production, sustainability

2 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 02 2025 LEATHERBIZ

and upcycling process in the market have not yet borne fruit. Without this, however, it will be difficult to prevent further shrinkage and decline in the production and use of leather.

We would be delighted if someone could prove us wrong. However, the facts of recent years tell a different story.

Leather will of course continue to be produced and will probably become more and more of an exclusive niche product.

Without question, there are still many people on this earth who love the product and want to take advantage of its superior properties.

When crisis causes people to place greater importance on value for money again, those who are aware of this will certainly opt for more leather. All of this points to a continuation of the trend towards fewer, larger, more dominant mass manufacturers and, at the same time, probably a renaissance of smaller clusters of specialists. While some may be able to face the demands and costs of certification programmes, others will

certainly have to leave these systems behind.

Relatively little has happened in the raw materials markets in recent weeks. The only thing that can be said with certainty is that weak demand continues to weigh on prices.

Another problem, and not a minor one, is the fact that market transparency is continuing to decline. Even though those involved naturally have no interest in much of this becoming public knowledge, it is nevertheless possible to ascertain, even without official documentation, that there are considerable price differences for the same goods. Volume and financial security currently enable some large players to purchase what we might call special conditions. Any additional, smaller demand is then met at correspondingly different prices, although the total volume is very small and so is the leverage for the sellers.

In any case, the large producers with orders are not failing at the moment because of the price of raw materials. With a few exceptions,

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slaughter levels worldwide are currently rather low, which can best be seen in the numbers in the US. Demand for beef remains relatively stable, despite customs duties. This is leading to significant shifts in the flow of goods. It also takes a certain amount of time before this can be seen in the markets as a whole. This is particularly true because there is also an oversupply of hides and skins. Especially in countries of origin that cannot necessarily offer the best quality for leather production, the possible destinations for the raw material are further and further away.

On sheep and goat skins and split leather there is no real news. In the case of skins, their use for leather in niche markets has now become fully established. They exist, there is also a reliable flow of goods and demand, but away from these niches, the skins are no longer being used in leather production and can only be used in very marginal quantities for proteins or other sectors.

With split leather, there is a two-fold problem. On the one hand, there are fewer lime splits, which are needed for very specific end products. On the other hand, whole hides can increasingly be used for protein without any problems. Here, too, the coming months will determine how the flow of goods is to be reorganised.

Forecasts or assessments about the near future cannot and should not be made. There is simply no real factual basis for this. We know that there are some market participants, especially in the raw materials sector, who are predicting a sustained market improvement and are betting on it. Perhaps they are right.

If you repeat an opinion often enough, it will probably become true at some point.

However, those who have expressed this opinion frequently in the past have had to admit that they were wrong and the same thing could happen again. Of course, market opinion is currently also strongly driven by individual interests.

We will follow events in Asia with great interest and then we will probably have to wait for the gathering in Milan for Lineapelle (September 23-25) to get a final picture. Until then, we honestly do not believe that there will be enough new facts to justify a significant change in the market situation that has prevailed for months now.

US PERSPECTIVE

E Through dedicated research we have developed a core range of bisphenol optimized syntans.

The 昀rst, TANIGAN® MBO Liq, TANIGAN® OSO Liq and TANIGAN® FAO Liq, have already been launched.

These TFL pioneering syntans address the latest regulatory challenges ahead of time with a BPS content below detection limit and are completely free of BPF. These remain an essential part of Wet-end processing ensuring the required leather tightness, fullness, softness and fastness attained.

They also consume less energy in their production and have a lower carbon dioxide footprint.

You can expect further product launches adding onto these essential “building blocks” shortly.

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xport sales of cured cattle hides for the period ending August 21 were 295,900 pieces. The figure for exports of wet blue was 48,300 pieces.

The most recent reports on hide prices showed heavy Texas steers weighing 60-62 pounds up slightly at $11 per piece.

Cow hide prices were steady, with northern dairy cows at $13, south-west dairy cows at $12.50, northern branded cows at $5 and south-west branded cows at $4.50, with weights of 50-52 pounds in each case.

The source of all these figures is the US Department of Agriculture. Please note that the prices quoted represent ‘ballpark’ figures.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 02 2025 LEATHERBIZ 3

Cattle markets USA Fed supplies are once again current and asking prices will be higher. Packers were willing to acquire larger inventories in the north, probably needing a few of those cattle for last week’s needs. This week will is short one day owing to Labor Day on September 1. Last week closed with mostly steady prices in the north and $2 higher prices in the south. Live sales in the south were mainly $241-$242 and in the north $245, narrowing the spread between the two regions. Dressed sales were mainly $385 in Nebraska and higher in Iowa, up to $392.

Three weeks of larger slaughter volumes will test the resilience of the box prices and at the same time make more current many of the short feedlot supplies that have provided leverage to cattle owners for the most of this year. Processor volumes are making plants more efficient and improving their margins.

Retail demand remains strong and the consumer appetite for beef is robust, yet full pricing has still not arrived on the meat counters of the nation’s supermarkets or restaurant menus.

As the herd rebuilds, producers will be forced to live with smaller supplies, applying price pressures to all the middle operators in the beef chain. They will face the same challenges that have been present in the nation’s beef plants for the past two years.

Navigating this operating environment will become increasingly difficult. Record prices are repeated weekly across the nation’s auction barns and video auctions. The price increases have been dramatic. Since early summer calves weighing 500 pounds-plus have jumped $80, while 800-pound animals rose $50. Buyers are wary of high-priced purchases, but ‘pay to play’ is the name of the game.

Placement weights will begin to be influenced by grazing-season gains on pasture conditions that, by most accounts, have been good-to-excellent. Many cattle were placed on summer grazing locations at heavier than usual weights because cattle owners are struggling with high-priced replacement costs. Combine heavier placement weights with above-average grazing gains and the result is heavier placements this fall.

Corn prices softened. The US Department of Agriculture set a large benchmark by raising the estimated yield; this could lead to disappointment at harvest. Elevators are lowering the fall basis in anticipation of a large corn crop. Corn basis levels in Guymon, Oklahoma, are at +$0.70, basis the December contract.

GERMAN PERSPECTIVE This week: In Europe, the number of potential discussion partners has now slowly begun to increase again. However, the discussions are not necessarily yielding big news or the insights so many had hoped for regarding an improved order situation in the leather industry. It is simply still too early for

Actual Slaughter Under Federal Inspection Week ending 16.08.25

Week ending 17.08.24

% difference

Cattle

535,913

605,086

-11.4

Calves

2,150

3,976

-45.9

Hogs

2,417,362

2,515,545

-3.9

Sheep

37,143

34,488

+7.7

Goats

10,664

10,779

-1.1

that, and it remains unclear why many are seriously expecting new and hard facts to be available before mid-October.

From this perspective, the situation is neither positive nor negative, and we are ultimately in the same position as we were before the holidays began. However, it remains true that no one, either at home or abroad, really expects leather demand to rise beyond the seasonal recovery in the coming months. Too many uncertainties are weighing

on the situation, and the only thing that almost every leather manufacturer is saying at the moment is that almost all leather buyers are expecting lower prices.

This desire may be understandable, but leather buyers should also realise that, at a certain point, the price of leather can no longer be pushed down. Of course, it may still be possible to force someone to sell below cost, but in the long run, no one will be happy about doing so.

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In addition to the question of the sheer volume of leather orders, the mix of items and ranges is also a major concern. Tanners have to get the whole range out of the door somehow. In our opinion, this has not been working well for quite some time now. So there is a lot that needs to be worked on and possibly re-sorted for the new season after the holidays.

It is not only the supply and demand parameters that are currently influencing business, but also the diverse geopolitical influences and the erratic customs policy of the US government, which make truly factbased analysis of the market almost impossible at present.

All we can do is take the impressions from Asia and then probably carry on with business as usual until the Lineapelle fair in Milan at the end of September. Then, at some point, the moment will come when the realities become apparent.

In business terms, it was another relatively

quiet week, limited almost exclusively to the cautious and virtually unchanged continuation of existing supply contracts in Europe.

The kill: Slaughter numbers remain relatively low. Prices for livestock and also for meat have risen again, and in the end, all of this is really just a reflection of what we are seeing in many countries around the globe.

The particularly European desire that demand for beef and thus livestock farming should reduce in the long term is not happening anywhere, at least not at this point in time.

Consumers are still behaving differently from the way EU policy-makers would like.

Presumably, only price can seriously limit demand and, thus, production.

What we expect: As you can easily see from the previous points, we do not expect any change this week. If anything, the mood and impressions from the All China Leather Exhibition in Shanghai (September 3-5) may have an impact on the market at the end of the week. But will that actually be the case?

The market has not reacted seriously to almost anything for quite some time, so our expectations are quite subdued in this regard as well.

LONG READ Leather and the Circular Economy: Thought Leadership

Added value An article we published five years ago put at 2000% the figure for the added value that tanners and leathergoods manufacturers can give to hides. As this follow-up article shows, if you put the material in the right hands, the figure can now go much higher.

In spite of war, trade tensions, macroeconomic pressures and climate change, the volume of cattle hides that farmers and meat and dairy companies around the world produce continues at a steady level. The most recent figures from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) show that, for each of the early years of this decade, global production of raw cattle hides was around 300 million. In 2020, the figure was 297 million. In 2021, it was 299.8 million, rising to 304 million in 2022 and 309.8 million in 2023, the most recent year for which a number is available from FAO. Its figures are, of necessity, estimates, but they are among the most educated estimates available. The most obvious lacuna is, perhaps, that the FAO figures include no estimate for India, a country with a cattle population of close to 200 million head and a busy leather industry.

We can keep this caveat in mind and still stick to 300 million as a good, round figure for cattle hide availability. The point is not to give an exact number for this, but to illustrate something else. At the end of 2024, we published analysis of these figures that the Leather and Hide Council of America (LHCA) had carried out. Its conclusion was that 40% of the available cattle hide resource is going to waste at the moment.

Environmental benefits LHCA embarked on its analysis because it wanted to illustrate the huge environmental penalty that the world pays by failing to turn millions of hides into leather. Does tanning have an environmental impact too? Yes, of course. LHCA’s point is that the environmental cost is much greater if you let the hides go to waste. Again, for the sake of illustration, we can put some figures on this. What LHCA said at the time was that a 25-kilo cattle hide going to waste would generate emissions of 300 kilos of CO2-equivalent.

Figures for 2023 that Italian tanning industry body UNIC published suggested that its member companies can achieve emissions of 2.03 kilos of CO2-equivalent per squaremetre of finished leather. If we calculate 4.5

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 02 2025 LEATHERBIZ 5

LATEST HIDE AND SKIN PRICES FROM GERMANY TYPE

WEIGHT RANGE

AVG. GREEN WEIGHT

SALTED WEIGHT

AVG. WEIGHT SALTED

PRICE PER KG GREEN WEIGHT

TREND

Ox/heifers

15/24.5 kg 25/29.5 kg

22.0/23.5 kg 27.5/28.5 kg

13/22 kg 22/27 kg

20/21 kg 25/26 kg

€ 0.80 € 0.65

Stable Stable

Dairy cows

15/24.5 kg 25/29.5 kg 30/+ kg

22.5/23.5 kg 27.5/28.5 kg 33.5/35.5 kg

13/22 kg 22/27 kg 27/+ kg

20/21 kg 25/26 kg 29/31 kg

€ 0.45 € 0.50 € 0.50

Weak Weakish Weakish

Bulls

25/29.5 kg 30/39.5 kg

27.5/28.5 kg 36.0/37.0 kg

22/27 kg 24/34 kg

25/26 kg 31/33 kg

€ 0.90 € 0.90

Stable Weakish

40/+ kg

45.0/48.0 kg

34/+kg

38/40 kg

€ 0.95

Weakish

Thirds

15/+ kg

25.0/27.5 kg

13/+ kg

24/26 kg

€ 0.40

Stable

Thirds bulls

30/+ kg

38.0/40.0 kg

24/+ kg

33/36 kg

€ 0.45

Stable

square-metres of finished leather from one of the 25-kilo hides LHCA talked about, it would give an emissions figure of just over 9 kilos of CO2-equivalent per hide. This indicates that it is more than 30 times worse for the environment to let a hide go to waste than to hand it over to Italian tanners. Sometimes, observers point out that UNIC’s figures can be skewed by the predominance of leather manufacturers in Italy starting from wet blue, missing out wet-end processing and the emissions associated with it. Scottish Leather Group carries out its own wet-end processing and calculates its emissions at 1.4 kilos of CO2equivalent per hide. This means its work to make leather from hides has an environmental impact that is more than 200 times lower than letting the material go to waste.

Economic gains This feels a little like going over old ground, but these figures remain jaw-dropping. This new article has a different purpose: to show not the environmental benefit that we miss if we mismanage the circular resource that cattle hides constitute, but the potential economic benefit. Hides can generate huge economic gains. Not to use them to make leather is to miss out on making money.

In 2020, we published an article that calculated at 2000% the value that tanners and finished product manufacturers are able to add to hides. This follow-up article shows that, five years on, this percentage is now much higher.

In July 2020, LHCA said 5.5 million US hides had failed to make it into the leather value chain the year before. It blamed the low economic value of the raw material, saying that it was no longer economically viable for traders to collect hides from smaller abattoirs, preserve them and ship them to tanneries.

The price of hides has not recovered, nor, for the most part, has the price of leather.

However, the prices of many finished products are now substantially higher than they were at the start of the decade. This suggests the added value that the leather industry can

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bring must also be higher now.

High fliers It is in France, home to the biggest luxury groups, that many of the world’s highestvalue leather products are made. In AugustSeptember 2025 issue of World Leather, we have a separate article about the $10 million bag; an original prototype of the Hermès Birkin bag, presented by the company to Jane Birkin and owned and loved by her for years.

Abattoirs in France slaughtered 3 million head of cattle in 2024 and just under 1 million calves. The material is of high quality and the supply chain is efficient; we can safely assume the vast majority of the hides and calfskins that accrued as waste at the abattoirs will have found buyers. If may seem strange to focus on France if these particular hides and skins seem to face no danger of going to waste, but we used to say that about the US too. It is also true that most leathergoods brands around the world cannot add the same value to the raw material as their French

counterparts. And, of course, the $10 million Birkin bag is a real outlier. However, if 40% of global cattle hide resources are going to waste, it is worth pointing out the full extent of the potential economic benefit that those resources could bring. For this, France and the detailed statistics that industry body Alliance France Cuir is kind enough to make public serve our purpose well.

In the raw To start at the beginning, Alliance France Cuir has told World Leather that the price of cattle hides in France has fallen by 47% in the last ten years. Now, large, male hides sell for between €50 and €60 each. Female hides (from beef cattle breeds) fetch prices of between €30 and €40. Dairy cattle now make up a larger proportion of national herd in France than in previous years; hides from those animals currently cost between €15 and €22. Calfskins are becoming more scarce, as an article in World Leather December 2024January 2025 makes clear. It is a special

material for which prices have not followed the same dynamic. The upshot is that the spend for the domestic leather manufacturing sector on these local raw hides and skins was €84.5 million in 2024.

Alliance France Cuir has said 74 companies were involved in collecting and trading raw hides in 2024. They do so primarily to make money, of course. Collectively they generated revenues of €269.4 million. They brought in more than 75% of these revenues, €203.7 million, from exports of French raw material, demand for which is high (among Italian tanners in particular). Our focus here will be on the €84.5 million worth of raw material that stayed in France.

Leather manufacturers in France also imported raw hides and skins from elsewhere.

This material had a value of €148.2 million. If we add the domestic and import figures together, we can see that tanneries in France spent a total of €232.7 million on bovine raw material in 2024. This figure is, therefore, our starting point in working out added value.

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From this material, according to Alliance France Cuir, these manufacturers made 2,295 tonnes of finished leather and sold it for a total of €424 million. At this stage in the value chain, hides that cost €232.7 million had generated added value of 82%. Not bad at all, but downstream supply chain partners, all the way to the expensive shops on Paris’s Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and Avenue des Champs-Élysées, were able to keep adding economic value to the material every step of the way.

France had 387 companies making leathergoods on home soil at the end of 2024.

The number of manufacturing companies is down slightly on the previous year’s figure of 392. However, the total number of people involved in leathergoods production in 2024 was up, increasing by 4% to reach 32,011.

Their hard work generated a collective turnover of €5.9 billion for the finished product manufacturers. Again, insisting that our aim here is to offer an illustration of the added value rather than pin-point accuracy, we can say that the outlay of €232.7 million on raw material had, by this stage, achieved an impressive added value of 2435%.

Conservative estimate Of course, distributors, wholesalers and retailers add their margins on top of this, as we can see from the figure Alliance France Cuir has given for the value of leathergoods exports from France in 2024. Citing the country’s customs authorities, it said these exports generated €13 billion.

There are two things to point out here. A proportion of the leathergoods that French companies export are made outside France, most notably in Italy and Spain. If these items come back to France for export from there, which some do, they contribute to the €13 billion figure. However, because many of the factories that make those products use French hides and calfskins, we can still include them

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 02 2025 LEATHERBIZ 7

as part of our added value calculation. A figure of €13 billion takes the value-add percentage to 5486%.

This may seem a very precise number for what is, as we keep saying, an illustrative exercise. This is a fair criticism. It is worth bearing in mind, however, that the €13 billion is only for exports from France. It does not reflect the fact that a large proportion of the output from France’s leathergoods factories do not go for export, but are sold to consumers in France and to tourists visiting the country. This is a difficult number to work out, but we know it is not a small one. This means 5486% is a conservative estimate. The true figure must be even higher.

NEWS ROUND-UP

that Spinnova had endured a tough time because a Brazilian partner, Suzano, withdrew in February from joint-projects to scale up wood-based fibre production.

After carrying out a review of the business, Spinnova has now taken full ownership of the companies it set up jointly with Suzano.

With the end of their joint-venture agreement, Spinnova will now be able to license the technology for producing the fibres freely. It has also taken full ownership of the only large demo facility for producing Spinnova fibre from wood pulp.

Spinnova has said these outcomes give it confidence that it is on the right track, and that its plans for the future are realistic. It added that it had received positive feedback from brands on the functionality of its fibres.

EUROPE

Stahl launches autumn-winter 2027 design collection

TFL announces leadership changes

S

tahl has published its latest Premium Leather Design Collection for the autumn-

winter 2027 season.

The 70-page catalogue is aimed at professionals in automotive, fashion, and interior design, and combines trend forecasting with a strong focus on sustainable finishing technologies.

The book includes real leather swatches, Pantone-based colour stories, and four distinct trend themes: Nexus, Tribu, Pomp, and Anomaly.

Stahl said the collection is intended not only to provide inspiration but also to serve as a tactile demonstration of its coatings and finishes, which are designed to protect and enhance leather across a wide range of applications.

Ecco launches resale programme

F

ootwear brand Ecco has introduced a resale initiative, Ecco PreLoved, in Germany.

The programme allows consumers to trade in pre-owned Ecco shoes and bags at selected stores in exchange for a voucher towards a

L

eather chemicals specialist TFL has confirmed a series of leadership updates that it says will strengthen its long-term growth plans.

Effective September 1, 2025, chief commercial officer will be Samer Al Jabi (pictured right), who joined TFL in March 2025 and has played a key role in shaping the company’s five-year strategic plan. He brings extensive experience in the chemical industry, having led global businesses, developed highperforming teams and overseen acquisitions.

On July 1, 2025, Kaija Korolainen (left) was appointed group chief people officer. She is responsible for leading TFL’s people strategy, with a focus on building an inclusive, highperforming culture.

Chief operating officer, Henrik Pedersen, will retire on January 1, 2026, after nearly 21 years with TFL. The company has begun the search for his successor.

“These leadership appointments reflect our commitment to strengthening TFL’s strategic and people agenda while ensuring continuity in our operations,” said chief executive, André Lanning.

QUAKER COLOR A STEP AHEAD IN AUTOMOTIVE FINISHING

Respin plans are still progressing, Spinnova says

F

ibre development company Spinnova has said advancing the commercialising goals for its leather waste-based fibre will be one of its priorities for the rest of 2025 and into 2026.

The Finnish bio-based fibre manufacturer launched Respin in 2021, in partnership with wet blue and crust manufacturer KT Trading and footwear and finished leather producer.

Ecco first took an interest in what Spinnova was doing around 2018.

Spinnova has had a rocky first half of 2025.

It has announced its desire to set up a new international consortium of partners to scale up production of and demand for its woodbased fibre. It claims this has attracted “widespread interest” and that it intends to continue its discussions “with confidence”.

Chief executive, Janne Poranen, explained

Supplying innovative finishes to the automotive industry for over six decades

Quaker Color is a division of McAdoo & Allen, with roots in the leather industry for over a century

8 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 02 2025 LEATHERBIZ

new purchase.

Collected items will be professionally cleaned, repaired and prepared for resale, extending their lifespan and reducing waste.

Ecco said the initiative reflects its commitment to celebrating craftsmanship and giving products “more than one life”.

Leather Naturally opens applications for Communications Lead

L

eather Naturally has opened applications for a new Communications Lead to join its Board and drive awareness of the organisation’s mission and initiatives.

The voluntary role seeks a leather industry professional with at least five years’ experience in communications or marketing leadership, including expertise in leading remote teams and developing organisational strategy. Key responsibilities include defining and implementing Leather Naturally’s communications strategy and budget, leading marketing communications experts, managing World Leather Day initiatives, attending

regular team and leadership meetings, and acting as a public spokesperson as needed.

Applicants should have strong skills in digital marketing, social media, website management, public speaking, and fluency in written and spoken English.

The city’s leather traditions gave the world the word ‘cordovan’, which describes leather made from the shell part of a horse hide. The word ‘cordwainer’, which traditionally meant an artisan who made shoes from new leather, also comes from Córdoba.

Home of guadamecí to host new exhibition in November

British Pasture Leather to host October Field Days

T

he work of leather artist Jorge Centofanti is to feature in a new exhibition in the home city of his specialism later this year.

A renowned exponent of guadmecí, the technique of painting onto leather, Mr Centofanti will showcase more than 50 pieces of his work in the place that introduced most of the world to the practice, Córdoba.

The Spanish city’s main exhibition centre, the Palacio de Congresos, will host the display for the whole of the month of November.

Artisans from the Arab world probably brought guadamecí skills to Córdoba in the eighth century. By the eleventh century, the fame of guadamecí craftsmen based in Córdoba had spread to many parts of Europe.

B

ritish Pasture Leather will hold Field Days in Hertfordshire from October 8 to 10, focusing on the links between farming, ecology and leather production.

The first day, on October 8, is for students, recent graduates and tutors, with tickets subsidised by the Leathersellers’ Company.

October 9 will be open to the public, while October 10 is reserved for members of BRiMM, a network of brand founders and innovators.

The programme will combine farm visits with sessions on regenerative agriculture, soil health, biodiversity and livestock grazing. It will also outline British Pasture Leather’s approach to sourcing hides from pastureraised cattle and producing leather with traditional, low-intervention methods.

Direct-to-consumer investment brings dip for Manolo Blahnik

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igh-end footwear brand Manolo Blahnik has reported full-year revenues for 2024 of €86.4 million.

This represents a fall of 19% year on year, but the company pointed out that it still marked its third-biggest revenue figure ever, after the record years of 2022 and 2023.

Chief executive, Kristina Blahnik, niece of the brand’s founder, said a substantial investment in own-brand stores in Asia, North America and Europe was paying off. She said the company had opted to pursue a direct-toconsumer model because it wanted to build deeper relationships with its customers.

Direct-to-consumer investment brings dip for Manolo Blahnik

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igh-end footwear brand Manolo Blahnik has reported full-year revenues for 2024 of €86.4 million.

This represents a fall of 19% year on year, but the company pointed out that it still marked its third-biggest revenue figure ever, after the record years of 2022 and 2023.

Chief executive, Kristina Blahnik, niece of the brand’s founder, said a substantial investment in own-brand stores in Asia, North America and Europe was paying off. She said the company had opted to pursue a direct-toconsumer model because it wanted to build deeper relationships with its customers.

Livestock markets set to reopen in Turkey

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urkey’s minister for agriculture, Ibrahim Yumakli, has said livestock markets across the country will begin to reopen in the course of this week.

Markets were closed in July after a widespread outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Mr Yumakli said on August 18 that the

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authorities had distributed more than 11 million doses of a vaccine. He said farmers should vaccinate their animals and pay no attention to messages circulating on social media suggesting that the vaccines would do more harm than good.

He also warned traders not to take advantage of the situation by trying to buy livestock at unfairly low prices.

ASIA India’s PM is prepared to pay personal price for US trade dispute

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otal tariffs of 50% on exports from India to the US came into effect on August 26 after trade talks ended without an agreement.

In the build-up to the deadline, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, said a major reason for the stand-off was that he had not wanted to accept US insistence on greater access to the Indian market for its agricultural exports.

Mr Modi said he would never compromise on the interests of India’s farmers, including livestock producers. He added that he knew he may have to pay “a heavy price, personally” for the damage a long trade dispute with the US could cause, but said he was prepared to pay it.

India’s leather industry has said shipments to the US market accounts for around 20% of its annual export revenues at the moment.

This suggests a value of leather exports to the US of as much as $1 billion per year.

New department at Mastrotto Indonesia

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ruppo Mastrotto has marked the 20th anniversary of its Indonesian operation, PT Mastrotto Indonesia, with a ceremony that also saw the inauguration of a new production department.

The group said the investment represents a further step in consolidating its position in the region and preparing for future growth.

Established in 2004, the subsidiary has become an integral part of the group’s international manufacturing base.

At the anniversary event, management paid tribute to the workforce, citing their commitment and professionalism as the foundation for the company’s achievements to date.

President and chief executive Chiara Mastrotto said the milestone was both a moment of reflection and the starting point for a new chapter, presenting it under the motto “Forward, Together” in a post on LinkedIn.

Partnership promises fast response for clients in Asia, Gruppo Dani says

manufacturers in Asia have access to highquality leather.

Gruppo Dani said the new partnership would further strengthen its presence in Asian markets, and ensure “an even faster and more efficient response” to customers there.

production to almost 75 million pairs per year.

At the same time, Mr Chen explained, the group will accelerate the development of its handbag and accessories manufacturing business. He said Stella views leathergoods as “an important long-term growth driver”.

Production capacity to expand at Stella International

Guangzhou and Vietnam exhibitions report solid numbers

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ootwear group Stella International has reported revenues of $775.1 million for the first six months of 2025. This represents a small increase in revenue, of 0.7%, compared to the same period last year.

In terms of volume, the Hong Kong-based group said it shipped around 27.5 million pairs of shoes in the first half of this year, an increase of 3.8%.

Chairman, Lawrence Chen, said the group was finalising a new three-year plan, which will start in 2026. He said that, in the course of that plan, Stella intends to increase its annual production capacity by around 20 million pairs.

This would take the group’s footwear

rganisers have reported solid international participation at the 33rd Shoes & Leather, Guangzhou and the 25th Shoes & Leather, Vietnam exhibitions in 2025, with both events highlighting materials, machinery and finished products across the footwear and leather supply chain.

In Guangzhou, held from May 15 to 17, 726 exhibitors from 17 countries presented their products across 36,712 square metres.

Exhibitor categories were led by shoe materials (33.3%), leather and hides (8.6%), and chemicals (4.8%). The fair attracted 13,565 visitors from 77 countries, with 88% of participants coming from China and the remainder spread across Asia, Europe, Africa

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ongguan-based importer and distributor of finished leather Ligo Leather has entered into a new partnership with Italian leather manufacturer Gruppo Dani.

Ligo Leather specialises in helping global furniture brands make sure their partner

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and the Americas In Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnam edition ran from July 9 to 11 with 569 exhibitors from 24 countries occupying 20,000 square metres.

Product focus included leather and hides (12.5%), shoe materials (19.7%) and finished footwear, where men’s and women’s shoes each accounted for 25% of the event’s displays. Visitor numbers reached 11,583, with almost 88% coming from Vietnam and 12% from 62 other countries Both events also featured seminars and forums. Guangzhou’s programme covered supply chains, ZDHC’s footwear work plan and global e-commerce platforms, while Vietnam highlighted fashion forecasting, 3D printing, AI in footwear manufacturing and sustainable chemical solutions.

The next Shoes & Leather exhibitions are scheduled for May 20 to 22, 2026, in Guangzhou and July 8 to 10, 2026, in Ho Chi Minh City.

Uttar Pradesh approves new policy for leather and footwear sector

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he government of Uttar Pradesh has approved a new policy designed to accelerate the growth of the state’s footwear, leather and non-leather industries.

The Uttar Pradesh Footwear, Leather and Non-Leather Area Development Policy 2025 outlines measures to strengthen industryacademia collaboration and expand skill development. Under the initiative, specialised courses will be introduced in educational institutions to align training with sector requirements.

A network of 10 Centres of Excellence and research and development facilities is planned across the state. Industrial parks in key clusters such as Kanpur and Agra will gain state-ofthe-art training centres, innovation labs and product development hubs. Subsidies will also be made available to support research in footwear design, smart product technologies

and leather innovation.

Employment generation is a central objective, with the policy placing particular focus on opportunities for women and differently abled workers.

Commenting on the announcement, regional chairman of the Leather Export Council, Asad Iraqi, told local media the policy would “help the industry gain a skilled workforce while boosting research capacity, thereby enhancing competitiveness at the global level.”

AMERICAS Import ban can boost Mexico’s footwear industry, minister says

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exico has announced a ban on the temporary import into the country of finished footwear. The country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced the measure on August 28 and said it would take effect immediately.

Minister for the economy, Marcelo Ebrard, said an arrangement allowing companies to import shoes into Mexico tax-free for onward shipment to third countries had harmed the domestic footwear industry. He said it had become common for importers to allow shoes imported in this way to sell the goods in Mexico.

Figures that Mr Ebrard shared at the time of the announcement said that finished footwear that had come into Mexico under this arrangement in 2024 increased by 159% in volume and by 60% in value compared to the previous year.

This coincided with a fall in the volume and value of shoes produced in Mexico. The volume was down 12.5% on the previous year, while the value fell by 12.8%. The minister said Mexico’s footwear manufacturing sector lost 11,000 jobs last year.

He said an outright ban on temporary imports would help Mexico’s footwear industry to recover jobs, increase production and become more competitive. He emphasised that the ban applied only to finished products and that materials and footwear components were not part of it.

Nike plans corporate staff reduction

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ike has confirmed plans to cut less than 1% of its corporate workforce as part of a wider restructuring under chief executive Elliott Hill, according to Reuters.

The company said the layoffs, which will not affect its EMEA or Converse businesses, are linked to its move to reorganise into crossfunctional teams by sport. Nike currently employs about 77,800 people worldwide.

Since taking over as CEO, Mr Hill has focused on reviving Nike’s running shoe and sneaker lines, strengthening retail partnerships and expanding physical store presence to regain market share. The company also said it is reducing reliance on Chinese production for the US market.

Nike previously announced a 2% workforce reduction in February 2024, cutting more than 1,600 jobs.

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US shoe buyers ‘surprisingly flexible’ on tariffs, says Abicalçados

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arla Giordani, from Brazilian shoe association Abicalçados, has said 32 companies have collectively earnt $5.5 million from two US trade shows in August, which is “surprisingly positive”, given the 50% tariffs on Brazilian products.

She said: “There is a very positive movement among US buyers, who say they are willing to negotiate the payment of extra tariffs in order to maintain the supply of Brazilian footwear.”

At the Atlanta Shoe Market, 22 Brazilian companies sold 150,00 pairs, generating $3 million. Twelve Brazilian footwear companies sold 140,000 pairs at Magic Las Vegas, generating $2.5 million.

Wagner Kirsch, director of distributor GVD International, said the company attended Atlanta Shoe Market with “lowered expectations”. “The trade show proved to be successful,” he said. “Over the three days, we closed deals and developed important new contacts, despite a nervous market,” He added US buyers showed optimism about a resolution to the trade dispute.

The US takes a third of Brazilian footwear exports.

CICB puts figures on Brazil’s leather exports to the US

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razil’s national tanning industry association CICB has put figures on the value of the sector’s exports to the US, which are now subject to tariff levels of 50%.

In 2024, Brazil exported leather worth $166.8 million to the US. CICB said more than 90% of this revenue had come from shipments of finished leather.

It said Brazil’s tanners produce this finished leather using advanced technology, high levels of design and respect for the environment. They also used $47.2 million worth of US hides in 2024.

The organisation said that, before the tariffs kicked in, shipments of leather had been moving from Brazil to the US every day, to supply the automotive, footwear, furniture and leathergoods sectors.

But CICB said small, artisan businesses in the US, including repair shops, also buy pieces of leather from Brazil. CICB said Brazilian leather was a key factor in creating and sustaining jobs in both countries.

Croc-printed leather sneaker from Nike

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ike is preparing to release a new version of its Air Force 1 Low sneaker, finished in dark brown crocodile print leather.

The design also features a lighter brown leather midsole, brown outsole, gold-tone lace dubraes and a pre-worn leather tongue tag with cross-stitch detail.

The model is expected to launch in the coming months via Nike’s website and selected retail partners, although a confirmed release date has not yet been announced.

The launch follows other recent Air Force 1

Low editions, including “Dirty Triple-White” and “Dirty Triple-Black”, and comes alongside news of a “Sesame” colourway developed with Virgil Abloh, the first from the partnership since 2023.

eating group Lear Corporation has announced seven top-four finishes in the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Seat Quality and Satisfaction Study, outperforming all other seating competitors for the third year in a row.

The company secured the top three positions in the Mass Market Truck/Van category with the GMC Canyon, Hyundai Santa Cruz, and Chevrolet Silverado HD, and the Ford Bronco Sport achieved the best insegment score for Small/Compact SUVs. In Premium segments, Lear earned three top-four finishes with the Porsche 911, Porsche Taycan, and Jaguar F-Pace.

The study surveyed 92,694 new 2025 model-year vehicle owners after 90 days of ownership, with fieldwork conducted from June 2024 through May 2025.

have to submit detailed information about cattle hides and leather to show that their materials have no link to deforestation.

The work to prepare for this has been onerous. In recent comments, as reported in World Leather August-September 2025, the president of Italy’s national tanning industry body UNIC, Fabrizio Nuti, said EUDR could have a devastating effect on the leather sector. He said that he had been working on EUDR since November 2021 and that, for four years, the regulation has absorbed “almost all my energy”.

Now, though, the new joint statement suggests that pressure from the White House could be on the point of bringing about a shift in the European Commission’s stance on EUDR. The text says: “Recognising that production of the relevant commodities within the territory of the US poses negligible risk to global deforestation, the EU commits to work to address the concerns of US producers and exporters regarding EUDR, with a view to avoiding undue impact on US-EU trade.”

In additional comments, the European Commission said only that it had “agreed to exchange views with the US on the EUDR”.

It added that the US has been classified as a low-risk country and therefore a reliable partner from which EU importers can source their products deforestation-free.

“Having a platform for discussing the implementation of the EUDR with the US will be valuable in ensuring that EUDR does not result in unnecessary barriers to transatlantic trade,” the Commission continued.

It claimed this was in line with its commitment to implement EUDR “in a spirit of partnership, transparency, communication and open dialogue with all partner countries”.

New EU-US trade framework calls out EUDR chaos

Space is going fast at Brazilian footwear event

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Tariff boost for US furniture production

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S president, Donald Trump, has said that “a major tariff investigation” on imported furniture will be complete in the next seven weeks. He said furniture coming into the US from other countries would face tariffs “at a rate yet to be determined”.

The president said these measures would help revamp furniture manufacturing in the US. He said the furniture manufacturing business would rebound all across the US, but singled out North Carolina, South Carolina and Michigan as states that would benefit in particular.

Lear dominates 2025 seat survey

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he European Commission and the White House have issued a joint statement to build on the political agreement on tariffs and trade the US and the EU announced at the end of July.

In a new joint statement on August 21, the US and the EU set out the basis of what they call a framework for fair, balanced and mutually beneficial transatlantic trade and investment.

It lays out in detail the new US tariff regime towards the EU, with a clear maximum, allinclusive, tariff rate of 15% for the vast majority of EU exports, including strategic sectors such as cars.

With regard to cars and car parts, the 15% US tariff ceiling will apply in tandem with the EU initiating the procedures for tariff reductions for US products.

Another of the key terms of the framework agreement concerns the European Union Deforestation Regulation, which is due to come into effect on December 31, 2025, placing an extensive burden on businesses in a number of sectors, including leather.

As things stand, companies in the EU will

rganisers of Brazilian footwear exhibition BF Show have said space at the the next edition, which will take place in São Paulo from November 10-12, is already 95% sold out.

This will be the fifth edition of the event, which is co-organised by national footwear industry association Abicalçados and by exhibition company NürnbergMesse Brasil.

At the most recent edition of the event, in May 2025, Abicalçados said 1,200 footwear buyers had attended and that the event had generated orders worth more than $40 million.

Optimism at La-Z-Boy about furniture industry fundamentals

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ichigan-based furniture group La-Z-Boy has reported sales of $492 million for the first quarter of its current financial year, the three months ending July 26, 2025. This figure is down by 1% compared to the same quarter last year.

It said wholesale and retail sales of its La-ZBoy products had been strong, but had been “more-than offset” by a decline in sales at its

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Joybird brand. It acquired online-only Joybird in 2018.

Chief executive, Melinda Whittington, said La-Z-Boy had “multiple levers” for achieving growth. As an example, she confirmed that the group had agreed a deal to acquire a 15store furniture company in the south-east of the US. She said there was “uneven current consumer demand”, but that the company had “optimism in the long-term industry fundamentals”.

been officially opened by the first lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.

The site, which will produce shoes, bags and belts, is expected to create 10,000 jobs and generate export earnings of $250 million a year, according to local press.

Senator Tinubu said: “The hub will serve as a centre for leather processing, footwear production and specialised training, enabling artisans to add greater value to their craft and compete confidently in both local and international markets.”

JBS platform offers leather directly to consumers

UNIDO celebrates Ethiopian leather’s gender parity success

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eat supplier JBS, also the world’s biggest tannery group, has relaunched an ecommerce platform to make leather by the square metre available to consumers.

It said this would mean architects, interior designers and craftsmen could buy leather without a minimum order quantity.

Kim Sena, sustainability director of leather division JBS Couros, said: “We’ve spoken with brands, craftsmen, people looking to be entrepreneurs using leather to generate income, and even people that only want to change the upholstery of the sofa or the car.

“Now, we’ll be able to serve consumers looking for ready-made leather products, while also having an even more personalised sales channel for those that need leather in square metres, on demand, priced by volume.”

The Leather Labs website will also include free courses on how to use leather, space to discuss the material and an area for showcasing creative work.

JBS group reported second-quarter revenues of $21 billlion, up 9% compared with Q2 last year.

Record full-year revenues for Tapestry

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ccessories group Tapestry has reported full-year revenues of more than $7 billion for the fiscal year ending on June 28, 2025.

This figure represents growth of 5% year on year.

Chief executive, Joanne Crevoiserat, said this was a record figure for the group and that it had enjoyed “a phenomenal year”.

Its biggest brand, Coach, contributed nearly $5.6 billion towards the total, up by 10% year on year.

Its Kate Spade brand had revenues of almost $1.2 billion, which was a fall of 10%.

Tapestry also reported revenues of $215.1 million for high-end footwear brand Stuart Weitzman, which it has now sold to the Caleres group.

“With continued discipline and agility, we are well positioned to build on this momentum and lead with strength in the year ahead,” Ms Crevoiserat said.

AFRICA Lagos leather hub officially opens A leather processing and leathergoods manufacturing factory in Lagos, Nigeria, has

he United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO)’s Leather Initiative for Sustainable Employment Creation (LISEC) project is celebrating its successes in Ethiopia, where it sought to tackled gender inequality around Modjo city, a leather industry hub.

Its analysis previously found an underrepresentation of women in leadership positions, unequal access to resources, especially financial incentives and trainings, as well as poor reporting mechanisms for workplace safety and gender-based violence (GBV).

In response, six key recommendations emerged, including improving women’s retention and promotion, supporting womenand family-friendly environments, and preventing GBV. Targeted actions included GBV awareness campaigns, maternity/paternity leave, childcare support and direct backing for women-led businesses.

Addis Ababa Abattoir Enterprise promoted women to 60% of department leadership roles, provided training and coaching for women and set up daycare facilities to support working parents.

Women’s sick days plummeted to nearly zero with the introduction of childcare and flexible breast-feeding time, while employment and education opportunities expanded.

Another key component of the project's success was supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the leather value chain, with 70% of the targeted MSME members women. Additionally, not only was gender parity achieved within the Ethiopian Leather Industry Association’s board, but the project's Gender Action Plan was also adopted.

UNIDO concluded: “LISEC’s success serves as a model for fostering gender equality and sustainable employment in Ethiopia’s leather industry and beyond.”

South African leathergoods brands eye UK market

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he South African Footwear and Leather Export Council (SAFLEC) is bringing some of its brands and manufacturers to the UK in September for Autumn Fair fashion and homeware event.

The group includes Blu Betty, which produces handcrafted leather footwear designed in Durban; Rowdy Bags, which offers

leather backpacks and accessories; and Groundcover, known for its hand-stitched leather boots and outdoor footwear.

Rory McAuley, general manager at Rowdy Bags said: “In our Cape Town workshop, skilled makers handcraft each bag from premium full-grain Namibian leather, taking the time to perfect every detail. Built to last a lifetime and backed by our repair for life promise, every bag carries the story, heart and skill of its maker.”

Nerisha Jairaj, executive director at SAFLEC, added: “Our exhibitors represent bold design, ethical craftsmanship and innovation rooted in heritage. With duty-free access and a growing appetite for South African-made products, this is an exciting moment to build fresh partnerships and explore the untapped potential.”

Autumn Fair takes place between 7 and 10 September at the NEC Birmingham.

OCEANIA Political support for Packer Leather

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member of Australia’s federal parliament, Emma Comer, has weighed in on the debate about the move away from kangaroo leather by major footwear brands.

Ms Comer, who represents the Queensland division of Petrie, said in a statement in the federal parliament in Canberra on August 25, that a manufacturer of leather in her constituency, Packer Leather, deserved the support of politicians in Australia.

She told members of parliament that Packer Leather had been making world-class leather, including from ethically sourced kangaroo skins, since 1891 but was now “under real pressure”.

She attributed the pressure to a “misinformation campaign” that a Washington DC-based campaign group, Center For A Humane Economy, has carried out to convince footwear brands to end their use of kangaroo leather.

“But here is the truth,” Ms Comer continued. “Kangaroo leather is one of the most sustainable types in the world. It comes from a wild population, not factory farming, and prevents the waste of animal products. It is an industry that supports over 3,000 jobs, many of those in the regions. Kangaroo leather is the world’s strongest for its weight, and it is being replaced by synthetics, contributing to the growing problem of plastics in the environment.”

She went on to say that Australia faces “a real issue” with kangaroo over-population, which is affecting biodiversity. Recent reports in Australia have said that, with no natural predators, the kangaroo population has grown to more than 40 million. Overgrazing by the animals is damaging national parks, harming other species and hurting farmers and food supply hard.

The member of parliament for Petrie insisted it was “undeniably better” to cull the kangaroo population in a regulated way, which minimises suffering for the animal, than

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to let over-population problem persist.

“Packer Leather has been part of our story for generations,” she concluded. “Let’s make sure it continues to be part of our future.”

Australia - Record red meat production in FY25

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ustralia’s red meat sector recorded historic highs in the 2024–25 financial year, according to data released by the Australian

Bureau of Statistics and analysed by Meat & Livestock Australia.

Beef production reached an all-time record of 2.75 million tonnes, supported by 8.88 million head of cattle processed, the highest annual slaughter since 2015. Lamb slaughter totalled 26.06 million head, the second-largest year on record, while mutton throughput rose to 11.7 million head, the highest volume since 2007.

MLA said the results highlight the adaptability of producers to seasonal pressures, with improved productivity, feedlot turnoff, and heavier carcase weights supporting output.

THE MUST-HAVE ESSENTIAL BOOK FOR THE FOOTWEAR DESIGNER

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The Fundamentals of Footwear From materials through the stages of design and production To place an order, send your enquiry to john@worldtrades.co.uk