• Renewed US-China trade confrontation would have material effects on the leather supply chain
• The disputes inject increased uncertainty into the wider world economy
• Thus far, each bout of turbulence triggered by the US administration has unwound relatively quickly; perhaps this one will too
• In any case, pressure along the leather supply chain is tightening
• The ‘protein route’ is imposing a hard floor under raw material prices
• In logistics, costs and times are rising, while flexibility declines, and this is still not fully reflected in many budgets
• There is also a visible fall in capability within leather purchasing at some big brands, making it more difficult to bring projects to a successful conclusion.
MARKET INTELLIGENCE
The past two weeks have felt like a brief breather. In Asia, the autumn holiday slowed down many decisions; conversations continued, but much was postponed. At the same time, the global political backdrop remains tense, even if there are isolated glimmers of hope. For Europe’s leather and hide industry this translates into muted demand, hesitant orders and more uncertainty than this time of year usually brings.
On October 10, the calm shattered again: President Trump signalled extra tariffs of 100% on imports from China unless a satisfactory deal on rare-earth minerals is reached. The period of relative quiet is therefore over; uncertainty around US–China trade and pricing has returned. For the leather chain this matters immediately: raw hides moving from the US to China and finished goods flowing from China to the US will be squarely in the line of fire. The risk is not just higher duties, but volatile costings, re-routing and compliance checks that can stall shipments and force last-minute ‘tariff engineering’. Expect some buyers to front-load bookings while others pause, and for negotiations on specifications and delivery windows to harden until there is clearer guidance.
On the ground, the effects are tangible. Across day-to-day business, orders that are normally placed in October, or at least seriously negotiated, are, in many places, still missing. The longer this persists, the harder it becomes to secure basic plant utilisation and avoid downtime. Traditional tanning regions report lower output, rising work-in-progress and projects stuck in limbo. It is not uniform, but broad enough to qualify as a genuine trend.
A key backdrop is the automotive sector.
Globally, more vehicles are being sold, yet in Europe important manufacturers, especially in the premium segment, are losing ground. At the same time, the share of models and trim packages that use less leather, or highlight alternative materials, is growing. The old equation “more cars equals more leather” no longer holds. What matters now is which vehicles are sold where, and with what interior mix. For the leather sector this means greater dependence on exact specifications, from seat covers to door trims and steering wheels, as well as on the timing of model updates.
On the raw material side the balance is also shifting. More buyers are purchasing hides for purposes other than making leather; the aim in these cases is to extract protein, gelatine or collagen. This ‘protein pathway’ is no longer a side topic; it is a firm market. It effectively sets a floor under raw hide prices, because sharp price drops only accelerate diversion into this use. For European tanneries that is creating new pinch-points: certain splits, sought after for suede, are harder to secure or no longer fit familiar costing models.
In practice the change is very concrete. Many firms are relocating parts of leather production to countries with cheaper energy and fewer regulations. This brings costs down, but it also reduces flexibility. Journeys are longer, coordination is trickier, last-minute changes are harder. Projects can fail if a single document is missing, or because of an apparently minor specification rule or because of details in the paperwork. These details sounds trivial, but the consequences are real: delays, extra costs and, in the worst case, lost orders. At the same time, quality is being sorted more tightly by end use. Sorting is different for automotive seating, for bags or for footwear. Audits and checks on chemicals, provenance and emissions are important for
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14 2025
trust and traceability, but they add to the work load and cost time and money.
There is also a structural problem in the chain. At several large brands the decisionmaking and technical competence in leather purchasing is clearly eroding. Collaboration becomes harder when specifications grow needlessly complicated, approvals are delayed or altered at the last minute, and rounds of questions spiral without a clear aim. These frictions multiply across the tiers and ultimately hit production, precisely where time-windows are tight and errors are costly.
Logistics is another area that is often underestimated. Costs and lead-times are gaining weight, and many plans still neglect adequate buffers. Because of production being moved around, flexibility is, if anything, decreasing. It feels like this reality is still not fully priced into many costings, especially when several steps of the chain cross borders. In Central Europe, the meat industry is likely to see shifts and further consolidation. Slaughter numbers have been rather low, which has helped keep raw material supply in check. Many observers, however, expect rising volumes in the coming months. If that wave meets a leather industry that is not yet back to full utilisation, the pressure builds. Price alone will not automatically balance things, because the protein pathway pulls at part of the raw material and sets a lower limit.
Internationally, China and Vietnam have booked unusually large volumes of US hides in recent weeks. Buyers seem confident that orders will materialise and that the finished leather they produce will be taken up promptly. This contrasts with a marked decline in footwear and leathergoods shipments from China and Vietnam in the third quarter of the year. The raw‑material purchases nevertheless imply expectations of firmer orders and sales ahead, lean inventories, and no assumption of further price declines. With trade frictions rekindled, that cautious optimism could quickly be undermined. The next few weeks will show what actually unfolds.
Running through all of this is a basic question: leather must not be forced into becoming an interchangeable industrial commodity. Leather’s natural strengths are clear: breathability, which improves seating and comfort; form adaptation, as it settles ergonomically with use rather than sagging early; and durability, which, with proper care, delivers many years of real service. Add to that the haptics, ageing and character you can feel and see.
All told, the structural crisis of Europe’s leather industry continues, if anything with a
tendency to intensify. Competitive advantages now lie mainly where proximity to better raw material, closeness to downstream customers, selective technological edges or creative development strength apply. If you reduce the competition to production conditions, bureaucracy and regulation alone, the negatives outweigh the positives. The parallels to Europe’s automotive industry are obvious: strategic trends were ignored for too long; hope trumped sober expectations. Countermeasures are under way, but whether the course correction comes in time remains to be seen. What is clear is this: the leather industry must once again present the material with confidence and cast off the self-imposed restraints that keep it from doing so.
More urgent than anything else is time. The window in which Europe can still play its remaining strengths (customer proximity, development speed, know-how, design quality) is closing. Every delayed decision, every extra month at half-utilisation, every
production step moved overseas for cost reasons makes a return to former levels less likely. With each relocation, established teams, supplier relationships and know-how ebb away. What looks on paper like a temporary cost advantage can add up to a lasting drain of competence that is hard to rebuild. Above all, leather must not be pushed into a template that makes it a commodity.
The clock is ticking. Without swift clarity in sourcing, specifications, logistics and communication, a slow erosion looms. The end will not be one dramatic cut, but the sum of many small changes. If Europe’s leather industry is to hold its place, it must step forward now with clear messages that explain the material’s value, and with processes that can withstand higher costs, longer lead times and reduced flexibility.
In lamb, sheep and goat skins, very little has changed in recent weeks. Even though the catwalks in Paris and Milan featured a great deal of garment leather, it will take time to
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see whether that actually filters into massmarket ranges. Prices for sheep and goatskins moved little; for now, only selected niche products deliver workable returns for suppliers.
The split market remains dominated by protein extraction and suede. While the suede split is presently in serious short supply, usage of the raw material is shifting further towards protein outlets. Hide types and grades that cannot find sustainable margins in leather are being redirected accordingly. The central question is whether growth in protein markets can genuinely absorb the impending increases in bovine hide processing capacity. Producers appear confident: new projects are being planned or are nearing completion in multiple regions. Feedstock would certainly be available, at least for as long as leather fails to achieve remunerative prices.
Looking ahead to the next two weeks, we do not expect major changes. Any renewed US-China trade confrontation would have material effects on the leather supply chain. Beyond that, it injects increased uncertainty into the wider world economy. Thus far, each bout of turbulence triggered by the US administration has been unwound relatively quickly. The coming weeks will show whether that pattern holds again.
US PERSPECTIVE
New figures for export sales of cattle hides are unavailable because the US government website that publishes the information is not be updated during the government shutdown there.
The most recent reports on hide prices showed heavy Texas steers weighing 60-62 pounds at $12 per piece.
Dairy cow hide prices were lower, with northern dairy cows at $12 and south-west dairy cows at $11.50. Northern branded cows were unchanged at $5 and south-west branded cows remained 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.
Actual Slaughter Under Federal Inspection
New figures for cattle slaughter are unavailable because the US government website that publishes the information is not be updated during the government shutdown there.
Cattle markets USA
Reversing the price direction is more than a one-week process. The beef plants are struggling to establish, much less maintain, operating margins. This will ensure lower slaughter volumes and smaller cash purchases. Should the weekly slaughter volumes remain in the 540,000 to 550,000 level, the cut-out should improve moving towards the holiday period. Show lists will remain tight, especially in the south with ever-declining
occupancy.
touch of irony, the show lists in both Texas and Kansas were smaller, joined by smaller lists in Nebraska.
Packers held their fire all last week until Friday, compressing trading into one day. Rising futures prices set the stage for a bad ending. Early bids of $232 in the north were refused, forcing packers to jump prices to $234-$235 live where sales occurred. These prices are $4-$5 higher than last week’s. A few cattle traded in the north at $362-$365 dressed. The unique aspect of the week was no significant trade in the south, where many formula and grid cattle require cash prices for pricing. Bids of $235-$236 were refused. Packers were thankful to the USDA reporting for refusing to include “over the top” transactions separately in the Monday wrapup.
Slaughter volumes are expected decline into year-end owing to limited supplies and plant workovers. The choice cut-out has now declined from $415 to $365 and some believe prices will now move higher into the holidays.
USDA crop reports are missing as the government shut down continues, but good weather is allowing harvest to move forward and the corn crop is large. Elevators are firming the basis as harvest progresses in the plains. Corn basis levels in Guymon, Oklahoma, are at +$0.60, basis the December contract.
GERMAN PERSPECTIVE
This week: The German hide market has been quiet. The focus has been on purchases at slaughterhouses for the month of October but, unfortunately, there were no meaningful price concessions. It is obvious that this is less market-related and more an ongoing strategic move by various players. When economics do not rule, commercial logic goes into the background. On the sales side, most activity was simply an extension of existing programmes, with only a handful of ad-hoc, opportunistic deals.
What also stood out was that many tanners are now buying with even tighter, more specific requirements. With plenty of raw material around, buyers are increasingly trying to cover only the items for which firm orders still exist. That makes sense in theory, but with cattle hides it rarely works well in practice. A natural raw material that isn’t produced for its own sake does not lend itself to that approach.
Overall trading volumes were low but the market remained functional. Prices hardly moved and mostly stayed flat, though that doesn’t mean every lot can be sold straight away. Heavy male selections held steady. In this segment, buyers who do not primarily make finished leather still tend to set the tone. There are no real concerns about supply; availability from slaughterhouses is adequate and logistics are normal. Demand from Asia was clearly weaker owing to the early-October holidays, and many market participants there were taking a wait-and-see stance.
Across Europe, talk about the future of the leather industry is growing louder. Many tanneries report fewer orders and are running below capacity. At the same time, the nonleather space, especially the protein sector, keeps gaining importance. From Italy, the news about order books and production is also rather downbeat. In short, sales were mostly limited to renewing ongoing programmes plus a few one-off opportunities. There is no standstill, but there is little extra demand on top of the basics. As a result, prices remain unchanged; occasionally there are small discounts for quick lifting, but no broad shift in direction. The uplift in the US dollar was also shortlived with a fall on Friday afternoon owing to new trade disputes beteen China and the US.
The kill: Over the week, slaughter activity increased slowly, but without any notable rise in total numbers. Livestock prices eased a little. The weather remains mild for the season; nights are cooler, but there is still no
reason to expect a clear jump in beef consumption at this moment, or for farmers to bring more animals to market at short notice. Pricing also shows a gap: export returns remain well above retail prices in Germany. Processors say they would like to produce more, but current economics and the available supply of cattle do not make it feasible right now.
What we expect: Near-term, more of the same, with a slight downside risk as long as Asia stays cautious and European tanneries remain under-utilised. A clearer recovery looks possible only if stronger signals come from Asia or seasonal effects kick in. There are selective opportunities in programme top-ups at attractive terms and in the protein segment; the main risks are weak utilisation for leather in Europe and prolonged caution in Asia in particular, owing to renewed trade tensions between China and the US.
LONG READ
Leather and the Circular Economy: Circular Stories
Record in the bag
An original prototype of the Hermes Birkin bag has become the most expensive handbag ever to sell at auction.
Almost exactly two years after the death of singer and film star Jane Birkin, the original Birkin bag, named after her, has sold at auction in Paris for a record amount. It has become the most expensive handbag in history to sell at auction. This is a testament to its quality, but also to the circular credentials of the material it is made from, black box calf leather. It is long-lasting and only becomes more attractive with age.
Hermes made the first Birkin bag in the 1980s after a famous chance encounter. Jane Birkin was on the same flight from Paris to London as then-chief executive, Jean-Louis Dumas, cousin of current chief executive, Axel Dumas.
She complained that she could not find a tote bag that suited her and was carrying her belongings in a straw basket instead. When she attempted to place the basket in the overhead locker of the aircraft, many of her personal effects fell to the floor. Mr Dumas helped her to pick them up and promised to make something better for her, immediately sketching an initial idea of what might work. The result was the nowfamous Birkin bag.
Design elements
Sotheby’s described the original bag as a handmade prototype that included a number of design elements that the Birkin bags that Hermes makes today do not contain. The
prototype borrowed from a design that first came to light in the early twentieth century earlier for the Haut a Courroies bag. Hermes was already well known for equestrian products and the idea behind the Haut a Courroies was to offer customers a bag in which to carry around some of the equestrian gear they had bought. Its closed metal rings made their way into the Birkin.
The prototype Birkin also has unusual dimensions: the width and height of the model that became the Birkin 35 and the depth of the Birkin 40. The shoulder-strap on the prototype is non-removable and the support studs on the bottom are smaller than in the now established design. It also has Jane Birkin’s initials embossed into the box calf leather, immediately below the main metal clasp.
In the course of her association with Hermes, the company supplied Jane Birkin with four further bags from the range that bears her name. According to Sotheby’s, she always liked the original prototype the best. She used it until 1994, when she chose to donate it to a charity auction for an AIDS charity in France. The bag sold at auction again in 2000 and only re-emerged at the Sotheby’s sale in July this year, still intact, still beautiful.
Let battle commence
The auction house put the iconic piece on display for the public to view in New York and in Paris leading up to this year’s sale. On the day itself, July 10, what ensued, according to Sotheby’s, was “an electrifying 10-minute bidding battle”. Nine bidders had their eyes on the prize. In the end, a private collector in Japan emerged as the winner, paying a total of $10.1 million, including fees, for the privilege of owning it, a record for a handbag sold at auction.
This came as no surprise to the company’s head of handbags and fashion, Morgane Halimi. She describes the prototype bag as a rare example in the world of fashion of an object that “transcends trends and becomes a legend”. She says: “There is no doubt that the original Birkin bag is a true one-of-a-kind, a singular piece of fashion history that has grown into a pop-culture phenomenon that signals luxury in the most refined way possible.”
Five years’ training
A number of factors contribute to this, most famously the limited supply of bags in the Birkin range. Hermes is a beacon when it comes to employing and training people to make high-end leathergoods. At the end of 2024, the company employed a total of 25,185 people, an increase of 10% year on year. Its products are manufactured at 23 different leather workshops; all of these are located in France. It also has three further sites under development at the moment.
Even so, only a limited number of its artisans are permitted to work on its most exclusive products, including Birkin bags. Each of these items requires 18 hours’ work to construct. To train a new artisan to produce
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the bags takes five years, with each person having to attain expertise in all aspects of the product’s creation. This includes cutting leather, stitching and assembly.
Personal relationships
Of course Hermes could make more Birkin bags if it wanted to, but it chooses to preserve the product’s exclusivity. It wants demand to exceed supply. Customers cannot walk through the doors of a store and buy a Birkin and, contrary to urban myth, there is no official waiting list. High-spending regular customers may be given the opportunity to buy one, as a reward for showing brand loyalty. Even then, they may have to wait a year or more for one of the bags to become available. According to an article on this subject that Fortune magazine published in 2024, new customers may never have the chance to buy one.
Much can depend, it seems, on the personal relationships a customer is able to build up with sales representatives. In a sense, this is what Jane Birkin did all those years ago, although opportunities to engage the brand’s chief executive in designing a bag to suit one person’s particular needs clearly only come along rarely.
NEWS ROUND-UP
EU parliament backs ban on meat terms for plant-based products EU lawmakers have voted to reserve terms such as “burger”, “hamburger”, “sausage”, “steak”, “escalope”, “egg yolk” and “egg white” for products containing meat.
The vote, part of a review of the Common Market Organisation regulation aimed at strengthening farmers’ bargaining power, passed by 355 votes to 247 with 30 abstentions.
The European Parliament’s position will now feed into negotiations with the
Commission and member states. While the Parliament supports a full ban on these terms for plant-based foods, the Commission has so far proposed restrictions only on names directly linked to animals, such as “bacon”.
Supporters, including French MEP Céline Imart, said the measure protects farmers and improves consumer clarity. Critics, including retailers and consumer groups, warned it could limit innovation in plant-based alternatives and called for trust in consumer understanding.
The regulation must still be approved by member states before it can take effect.
Bruno
Mastrotto, founder of Mastrotto Group, dies at 84
Bruno Mastrotto, founder of Gruppo Mastrotto, passed away on October 8 at his home in Arzignano, aged 84.
Founded in 1958 with his father Arciso and brother Santo, Gruppo Mastrotto has grown into a major player in the global leather industry. The company operates 15 factories
worldwide, employs around 5,000 people, and exports to over 110 countries, supplying leather for automotive, fashion, interior design, nautical and aviation sectors.
Alongside his business work, Bruno and his wife Silvana supported healthcare initiatives in Vicenza and the Veneto region through the Silvana and Bruno Mastrotto Foundation.
He is survived by Silvana and their daughters Chiara, Giovanna and Rossella.
Recognition for Lineapelle CEO General
manager of Italy’s national tanning industry body UNIC, and chief executive of the Lineapelle exhibition, Fulvia Bacchi (pictured), has been named by Forbes as one of the 100 best chief executives in Italy for 2025.
The grand final of this year’s competition will take place at a formal awards ceremony and summit in Milan in early December, but Ms Bacchi was one of the speakers at a preview event on October 8.
Forbes has chosen ‘Train For The Future’ as the theme for competition’s closing summit.
AICC prepares for southern conference
Italian national leather chemists’ association
AICC will host the eighteenth annual conference of its Campania branch at Serino, near Solofra, on October 17. The event will start at six o’clock in the evening.
AICC said the theme of the conference will be ‘Sustainable Innovations in Tanning Processes: Challenges and Prospects’.
Attendance is free for AICC members and their guests.
Bader explores AI solutions for leather production at new innovation campus
Automotive
leather producer Bader is expanding its work on digitalisation and sustainability through a new collaboration at the Innovation and Future Campus HIVE e.V.
Together with its subsidiary Avema, a company that develops sustainable solutions by upcycling natural by-products and residual materials, Bader has established two branded containers at the site to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance leather manufacturing.
Bader said its work at HIVE will focus on improving production efficiency, increasing quality, and simplifying and accelerating processes. By integrating AI into existing workflows, the company aims to strengthen both performance and sustainability across its operations.
HIVE, which officially opened on September 22, aims to bring together businesses, startups, universities and the city to develop practical applications for AI.
Bader said the collaborative environment at HIVE offers an ideal setting to put new ideas into practice quickly and effectively alongside partners from industry and academia.
Emissions from fossil fuels have been ‘significantly underestimated’
Cologne-based think-tank nova-Institute claims to have exposed “a major underestimation” of methane emissions from oil and gas.
The institute, which specialises in defossilisation and renewable carbon, recently carried out analysis of updates to what it calls “leading lifecycle inventory (LCI) databases”. These databases are key sources of the information on which lifecycle assessment (LCA) studies are based.
Its findings could have major implications for comparing the carbon footprints of fossilbased materials with those of natural materials, including leather.
According to nova-Institute’s analysis, global methane emissions from oil production are likely to be 15 times higher than the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) has claimed.
For natural gas, the institute said emissions are up to 3.8 times
countries than IOGP has estimated.
It said downstream products such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate, which are all types of plastic in use in consumer products, should now carry carbon footprints that are between 20% and 30% higher than previous LCA figures have suggested.
Commenting on the findings, the secretary of the International Council of Tanners, Dr Kerry Senior, said the implications of this development for comparisons between leather and synthetic alternatives “through the narrow lens of LCA” remain to be seen.
He added: “It is obvious that action is needed on all methane emissions. However, it is clear that the arguments in favour of natural materials, including leather, get stronger all the time.”
National Gallery sells off leather benches over safety concerns
The National Gallery is selling its red leather benches after they were deemed noncompliant with modern fire safety rules.
The 1980s and 1990s reproductions of Victorian designs combine leather and wood, materials now viewed as difficult to maintain and potentially harbouring pests.
Eleven benches will be auctioned through Bellmans, with estimates up to £1,200 each. They will be replaced by solid oak seating as part of a wider refurbishment.
The decision, seemingly ignoring leathers inherent fire-retardancy, made during the gallery’s bicentenary and broader modernisation, has disappointed many visitors who saw the benches as part of the institution’s character.
The gallery insists the move is necessary for safety and conservation reasons, though it has retained full design records for possible future reproduction.
Purple reign at Bentley Motors
Leather craftspeople at high-end car brand
Bentley Motors were part of a project to develop an eye-catching recent bespoke interior.
A customer in the UK commissioned a new Continental GTC Speed convertible and specifically asked for a distinctive colour, a purple tone for which Bentley uses the name Violette.
It said this colour had been used in the past and paid tribute to technicians in its in-house paint shop for recreating it. It explained that its paint experts can can resurrect any colour from Bentley’s history, using either master samples held on file or by remastering from an existing car.
Technicians in the company’s leather workshop responded to this by sourcing a hide in a tone they have described as Tanzanite Purple, to reflect the colour of the car’s exterior. They used this colour in the centre console, the door panels, the steering wheel and seat backs.
To complement this, the technicians also used linen-coloured leather on the seats, steering wheel and centre console “to enhance the richness of the purple”.
Accents of lilac leather are also woven throughout the cabin, including in the gear lever and steering wheel, “adding depth and refinement to the bespoke interior”, Bentley said.
Scrutiny committee to review Walsall Leather Museum relocation
Plans
to relocate Walsall Leather Museum have drawn strong opposition from local campaigners and heritage groups following confirmation that councillors approved a proposal to move the institution from its current site on Littleton Street.
According to a Birmingham Mail report, Walsall Council signed off the relocation as part of wider cost-saving measures, prompting criticism that the decision was made without sufficient public consultation.
Campaigners Lauren Broxton and Michelle Randall say the move would amount to the effective closure of the museum and threaten both the building and its collections, which
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FINISHING
document Walsall’s long association with the leather trade.
Five councillors have now called for an urgent scrutiny committee to review the decision, citing concerns about due process and the lack of transparency. The Museums Association has also reported on the case, describing widespread concern about the impact on local heritage and on efforts to engage new generations with the leather industry.
Tod’s commended for 'digital passport' leathergoods
Italian leathergoods brand Tod’s has been awarded the Italian Chamber of Fashion’s Sustainable Fashion Award 2025 for Craft and Artisanship for its Tod’s Passport project in its Di Bag and My Gommino shoe.
The digital passport, available through an app and supported by the Aura Blockchain Consortium and Temera, allows consumers to track each step of the product's creation, from material selection to final craftsmanship.
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
The award was presented during a ceremony at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, where supermodel Iman conferred the award on Tod’s creative director, Matteo Tamburini.
“We are honored to receive this recognition, which celebrates our commitment to merging traditional craftsmanship with sustainable innovation,” said Tamburini. “The Tod’s Passport project represents a true revolution in the luxury sector, combining innovation and sustainability into one exceptional product. It’s our way of looking to the future while never forgetting the roots of our tradition.”
‘Solid figures’ from Lineapelle despite climate
Italian leather show Lineapelle has announced an “inevitable and expected” decrease in visitor numbers at the September event, although attendees from 109 countries representing 7,000 companies were still “solid figures”, said organisers.
Almost 21,500 visitors, and 1,150 exhibitors, attended at Fiera Milano Rho from 23 to 25 September to view collections for
autumn/winter 2026/2027 season.
Gianni Russo, president of Lineapelle, said:
“Three satisfying days, as highlighted by the majority of our exhibitors, despite a realistically expected reduction in visitors. In the context of a market still facing severe challenges, Lineapelle has shown its ability to establish itself as an indispensable forum for intercepting, discussing and developing new inputs and production and commercial paradigms that can lead to a season of revival. This was made possible also thanks to the strengthening of the strategic alliance with the technology of Simac Tanning Tech.”
The next edition of Lineapelle will take place between 11 and 13 February 2026.
Production begins again at Jaguar Land Rover
Automotive
group Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced that manufacturing will start again at some of its production sites from October 6. The company suspended operations in August following a cyber-attack, which forced it to close its factories and take
its IT networks offline.
This paralysed the work of its suppliers too and some of the companies in its supply chain have had to lay off some of their workers.
At the end of September, the UK government agreed to underwrite loans worth up to £1.5 billion to help suppliers of components and materials survive the crisis.
JLR has warned that it could still take weeks or even months for production to return to normal.
Anniversary Amazona in Loewe’s new collection
Leathergoods
brand Loewe is preparing to celebrate its 180th birthday next year. The brand was founded in Madrid in 1846.
To mark the milestone, Loewe has designed a special edition of its Amazona bag as part of its spring-summer 2026 collection. The company launched the Amazona in 1975, but is calling this new version Amazona 180.
It has used high-end nappa leather for the bag and has included a new double-L logo, engraved on the inside.
New chapter for Radermecker
Belgian
leather manufacturer Radermecker has begun working with the Ecotan range of technologies from Silvateam.
Radermecker said it had been “perpetuating the art of vegetable tanning” for 150 years now, but that signing up to use Ecotan meant it was “opening a new chapter”.
Ecotan technologies involve the use of only natural products in the making of leather, allowing specialist partners to take the material back at the end of a finished product’s useful life for use in fertiliser production.
The Belgian company said the move reflected values it shares with Silvateam, such as favouring renewable tanning agents, acting with “a strong environmental consciousness” and giving a second life to production waste.
“We believe leather can shape tomorrow,” Radermecker said. “It is a noble material rooted in tradition and a driver of sustainable innovation.”
LWG opens consultation on Leather Production Standard
The Leather Working Group (LWG) has launched a public consultation on the chain of custody and due diligence requirements of its Leather Production Standard. The consultation opened on October 1 and will close on November 30.
Stakeholders across the leather supply chain are invited to review the draft documents and provide feedback using the online forms included. Comments can be made on individual clauses or submitted as general observations.
The new Leather Production Standard and the accompanying Chain of Custody Standard will replace sections of LWG Protocol 7 and are scheduled to come into effect in 2026. LWG said the standards aim to improve traceability, transparency, and responsible sourcing across the industry.
For more information or questions regarding the consultation, contact the LWG Standards team at standards@ leatherworkinggroup.com.
Artisan leathergoods production strategy bears more fruit for Hermès
High-end leathergoods brand Hermès officially opened a new leathergoods manufacturing site in the town of L’Isled’Espagnac at the end of September. This is the company’s twenty-fourth leathergoods manufacturing site in France.
The company said this new opening confirms its commitment to continuing to produce its leathergoods collections exclusively in France. It added that this commitment involves creating long-term employment and contributing to economic growth in different regions of France.
Hermès announced plans to build the factory at L’Isle-d’Espagnac, a town near the city of Angoulême, in 2022. It said at the time that production would begin there in 2025. The workshop is on a former airfield near the town.
It chose the location for its proximity to other factories it runs already in south-west France, to make employee training and supply chain management as efficient as possible to run, while promoting and preserving artisan skills.
It also worked closely with inward investment organisations in the NouvelleAquitaine region and in the Angoulême urban area to complete the project on time.
The other leathergoods workshops in its south-west hub are already well established. It opened a leathergoods factory at Nontron in 1995, a glove and leathergoods production site at Saint-Junien in 1998, and another facility dedicated to leathergoods at Montbron in 2014. The company has said there are more to come.
It will make Kelly and Birkin bags, along with small leathergoods, at its newest site.
Rome event hears the case for leather
The leather industry had a presence at an event organised in Rome by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) at the end of September and start of October.
Called the FAO 2025 Conference on Sustainable Livestock Transformation, the event included an included a session at which the leather sector was able to present the details of a draft traceability standard for leather.
Signatory Brand.
Signatories commit to the ZDHC Roadmap to Zero programme and actively contribute (financially and non-financially) to developing standards, tools and working groups, whereas 'friends' align with ZDHC’s mission and use its solutions and platforms, but are not required to contribute to standard-setting or the programme’s development.
By embracing unified protocols and standards, the brands within the Prada Group can promote greater transparency across their value chain, cultivating a production ecosystem that is more resilient and ethical, according to the group.
Its brands include Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s and Car Shoe. It owns 25 factories and employs 15,500.
ZDHC is a global non-profit initiative that works with fashion, apparel, footwear, and textile brands (and their supply chains) to eliminate harmful chemicals from production and reduce environmental impact. It was launched in 2011 by a
group of brands after Greenpeace’s “Detox” campaign, which exposed hazardous chemical use in textile production .
Resilience and international projects are Simac-Tanning Tech highlights
Italian
tanning and footwear machine manufacturers’ association Assomac has reported that 7,000 visitors at the 2025 edition of the Simac-Tanning Tech exhibition in Milan, with 51% of them coming from Italy and 49% from other countries.
Assomac said that, at a challenging time for the sector with exports of the technology its member companies make down 12.8% in the first half of this year, the event emphasised the resilience of Italian manufacturing.
It added that a strategy of international cooperation, culminating in a focus on Africa and an agreement with Kenya for the development of the supply chain there, was also a highlight of this year’s exhibition.
makes it
Secretary-general of representative body COTANCE, Gustavo González-Quijano addressed the event. He introduced the draft standard and spoke about leather’s links to sustainable livestock management.
Prada Group ups ZDHC commitment
Prada Group has transitioned from a ZDHC
Signatory Brand Friend to a ZDHC
natural
Scottish Leather Group publishes 2025 ESG report
Leather manufacturer Scottish Leather Group (SLG), has released its 2025 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report.
The company confirmed that its operations are now net zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions, meeting a target first set in 2018. The report also highlights the commissioning of a solar PV array, higher recycling and recovery rates, and continued investment in energy and water treatment systems.
SLG produces leather with an independently verified carbon footprint of 8kg CO2e per square metre, which it says is the lowest in the industry. It has also achieved full traceability of hides to UK and Irish farms, ensuring compliance with upcoming EU deforestation rules.
The company’s Biopro technology was nominated for an Earthshot Prize earlier this year, recognising its efforts to reduce
environmental impact.
Chief executive Nicholas Muirhead said: “This year’s report marks the 22nd time we have published our progress, and it shows how far the business has come in areas such as emissions, waste and traceability.”
British Pasture Leather announces leathergoods collaborations
British Pasture Leather, which sources hides from pasture-fed cattle and farms whose practices align with regenerative principles, is launching a limited-edition series in collaboration with UK-based leathergoods makers.
From October 1, customers will be able to order bags or belts from makers including Wallsall’s Beaorma Leather Company, and Charles Laurie London.
Each item will be made to order, with delivery in December.
The company said: “Part pop-up, part fundraiser, every purchase supports British
Pasture Leather’s ongoing work to produce leather with authentic connections to local agriculture, helping to cultivate new opportunities for British craft and design.”
Fears for Turkey’s footwear manufacturers
Industry commentators in Turkey have blamed a lack of control over footwear imports for the domestic shoe industry’s lack of progress.
Recent figures from Vietnam have raised eyebrows in Turkey. Vietnam’s ministry for trade and industry has put the value of the country’s footwear exports in 2024 at more than $23 billion.
In Turkey, meanwhile, in spite of tanneries making large volumes of leather footwear uppers at clusters at Gerede, Bursa and others, plus finished footwear factories with large production capacities, export figures remain relatively low and the mood in the industry is weak.
For 2024, the Turkish Footwear Manufacturers Association reported exports of 240 million pairs of shoes from Turkey with a value of just over $1.1 billion.
The association reported export figures of 301 million pairs and just over $1.3 billion for 2023, and of 370 million pairs and $1.3 billion for 2022.
Commentators have said the causes of this lack of growth for the Turkish footwear industry and include high labour costs and a lack of incentives for the industry from the Turkish government.
However, they insisted that the biggest reason for a lack of momentum in the Turkish footwear industry is a lack of restriction on imports into the country, with many pairs coming from China and Portugal, as well as from Vietnam.
Reports from Turkey suggest that some small and medium-sized factories in Istanbul, Izmir, Konya, Gaizantep and other regions now face closure.
ASIA
Vietnam’s footwear exports hit by US tariffs
Vietnam’s footwear exports to the United States fell 27% in September to $611 million, the sharpest decline among all sectors following the introduction of new US tariffs, according to data from Vietnam Customs released on Monday and reported by Reuters. Textile exports dropped 20% over the same period.
Despite these sectoral setbacks, Vietnam’s total exports to the United States slipped only 1.5% to $13.7 billion in September, supported by stronger sales of coffee and machinery.
Falls for bags and leather garments in China
China’s finished leather product manufacturers returned negative export figures in the first half of 2025, according to figures that the China Leather Industry
Association has shared.
In the first six months of the year, leathergoods companies in China exported bags with a value of just under $16 billion, a fall of 11.2% year on year.
Over the same timeframe, Chinese companies imported bags worth just over $2.5 billion, down by 14.8%.
Leather garment exports fell by 14.5% to reach $48.7 million. Imports of leather garments were worth $49.3 million, but this, too, was a decrease, of 9.8% year on year.
SLF delivers L&HCA training to Indonesian tanners
The Sustainable Leather Foundation (SLF) delivered a two-day Inception Workshop in Malang, Indonesia, under the Leather & Hide Council of America (L&HCA) Regional Agricultural Promotion Programme and in association with AKPI (Indonesian Tanners Association).
SLF has been contracted by L&HCA to provide training and certification under the programme that seeks to grow US hides and leather exports to Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Representatives from 25 Indonesian tanneries participated in the programme. Key topics included sustainability, regulation and an overview of the US hide market.
Footwear
export volumes from
China stay steady, but value falls
China’s footwear manufacturers exported 4.5 billion pairs of footwear in the first six months of this year, bringing in export revenues of $21.7 billion.
These figures, which the China Leather Industry Association has shared with Leatherbiz, represent a small fall in volume, 0.3%, but a larger decline in revenues, 7.2%, compared to the same period last year.
Within this, exports of leather shoes from China over the six-month period reached 250,000 pairs, bringing in almost $3.6 billion, up in volume by 0.3%, but down in value by 4.5%.
Over the same period, traders, brands and retailers in China imported 90 million pairs of shoes, with a combined value of more than $2.6 billion. These figures also represent falls, of 11.6% in volume and of 9.7% in value.
From these totals, imports of leather shoes accounted for 24.8 million pairs with a total value of just over $1.1 billion, down by 20.8% in volume and by 18.8% in value year on year.
Mostly negative numbers for China’s tanning sector in H1
The China Leather Industry Association (CLIA) has reported revenues for the country’s tanning sector of around $3.8 billion in the first six months of 2025.
This figure represents a fall of 6.5% compared to the same period in 2024.
During the first half of 2025, tanners imported 700,000 tonnes of raw hides and skins, investing $580 million in the raw material. CLIA said this was down by 6.2% in
volume and by 16.4% in value year on year.
Tanners also brought 313,000 tonnes of semi-finished leather into China during the six-month period, paying $470 million. This means an increase of 1.7% in volume, but a fall of 10.8% in value.
There were falls, too, in the volume and value of finished leather imported by manufacturers in China, with totals for the January-June period reaching 18,000 tonnes in volume and $280 million, down by 16.5% and 19.2% respectively year on year.
The Americas
US and Italy export figures are a concern for Brazilian tanners
Brazil’s exports of leather and hides in the first nine months of 2025 had a value of $840.8 million.
In terms of volume, tanners and traders shipped 137.8 million square-metres of material, which corresponds to a weight of 457,000 tonnes.
Compared to the same period last year, this represents a fall in value of 11.8%. The number of square-metres shipped is down by 3.9%, but in terms of weight, there was an increase of 5% year on year.
On sharing the figures, national tanning industry body CICB noted that exports of leather from Brazil to China were up by 2.8% in terms of square metres in the JanuarySeptember period this year, reaching 60.4 million square-metres. In value, there was a fall of 14.8% year on year in shipments to China, reaching $251.3 million.
With geopolitical and trade tensions still affecting business, CICB said exporters were particularly concerned about results for the US and Italy. In both of these other major markets, shipments were down in value and in volume.
For the US, the figures were value of $117 million and leather and hides with a combined area of just over 9.8 million squaremetres, falls of 12.2% and 3.5% respectively.
Italy’s figures are a value of $93.4 million and an area of 17.7 million square-metres, declines of 17.4% and 8.6% respectively.
Our usual Friday report on cattle slaughter in the US is still unavailable owing to the government shutdown there.
LWG names new board chair
Multi-stakeholder
body the Leather Working Group (LWG) has announced David Wright as the new of chair of its board.
Mr Wright, currently vice-president for advanced technological developments at accessories group Tapestry, has worked in the leather industry for 35 years.
He has been involved in the LWG, which works to improve the environmental impact of the leather supply chain, since its inception in 2005.
Its board has stakeholders from different parts of the global leather value chain, comprising representatives of four leather manufacturers, four finished product brands and one supplier.
After his election as the new chair of the
board, David Wright told Leatherbiz that he was looking forward to the role. He said: “It’s been some time since the representative of a brand has been the chair, but I was there at the beginning of LWG and I know it is working hard to achieve. I am looking forward to helping the group move forward.”
Dip in LWG coverage for VF
US brand Timberland sourced 98 tonnes of regenerative leather for boots in fiscal 2025.
The VF Corp-owned brand has been investing in leather sourced from ranches that employ regenerative practices for more than five years.
The figures have been published in VF’s Environmental & Social Responsibility Report for 2025.
In the document, the group reported 90% of its footwear leather is from Leather Working Group-audited tanneries. However, in 2021 it hit a target of 100% of footwear leather from LWG tanneries. It is unclear whether it has moved suppliers, or whether the same tanneries have not renewed their audits.
Tannery employment figures on the up in Brazil
Statistics from Brazil show that employment in the leather manufacturing industry there has increased in the course of 2025 so far.
Official figures for the period to the end of August showed that tanners in Brazil were employing a total of 32,135 people. This is 3.7% up on the figure at the end of 2024.
Industry body CICB said the state of Rio Grande do Sul continues to have the biggest number of leather manufacturing jobs, with 8,481, up by 6.4% compared to the start of the year.
The figure for the state of São Paulo was the second-biggest for tanning industry jobs, with 6,609, an increase of 7.3% since January. Together, these two states host 47% of all of Brazil’s tannery workers.
Uruguay’s cattle slaughter on the rise
New figures from Uruguay show that cattle slaughter there registered an increase in the first nine months of 2025.
The country’s national meat industry institute, INAC, said abattoirs in Uruguay processed just under 1.8 million head of cattle in the January-September period this year. This is an increase of 6.4% compared to the same period in 2024. It also indicates an increase of 9.2% compared to the first nine months of 2023.
Leather tops consumer upholstery preferences
Leather is the most desired material for upholstered furniture in the US, according to Furniture Today’s latest consumer sentiment survey.
Among respondents, 41% ranked leather as their top choice, ahead of mixed leathersynthetic options (28%), linen (25%) and suede (25%). The same share of consumers
also listed leather as a key feature when selecting sofas, alongside contemporary styling and three-seat designs.
Durability was the main factor driving material decisions, with households citing pets and children as further influences. Sectionals remain most popular in L-shaped formats, while grey led the colour rankings, closely followed by beige and brown.
The findings suggest leather continues to combine practicality with consumer demand for comfort and style across sofa and sectional categories.
JBS underlines leather circularity in sustainability report
Meat supplier JBS, also the world’s biggest tannery group, has highlighted the contribution of its leather division in its 2024 sustainability report, presenting JBS Couros as an important part of the company’s circular economy strategy.
The division processes more than 40,000 hides daily across four continents and supplies leather to the automotive, furniture, and footwear industries. In addition, it channels other byproducts into other value streams, producing around 6,000 tonnes of collagen peptides and 6,000 tonnes of gelatine annually from splits.
According to the report, this approach, including the use of advanced tanning processes reduces waste, lessens reliance on virgin raw materials, and maximises the value of each hide. “By maximising the use of every hide, we are creating value that extends well beyond the meat industry,” JBS states.
The company links these initiatives to its wider environmental commitments, including a 30% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity by 2030 and a net-zero target for 2040.
OCEANIA
Australia’s sheep herd down 6.2% after two years of difficult conditions
Promotions body Meat and Livestock
Australia (MLA) has given a mid-year figure of 74.2 million head for the country’s sheep herd. It said this represented a fall of 6.2% year on year.
“Australia’s sheep industry is navigating a challenging period,” MLA said.
It explained that this decline comes on the back of “two years of below-average seasonal conditions” in key producing regions, particularly in South Australia, Victoria and southern New South Wales. MLA said this driven elevated lamb slaughter.
Lamb slaughter is expected to reach 24.9 million head in 2025, a 5.8% decline from last year’s figure, which was a record.
Oritain expands traceability services to leather
New Zealand based provider of traceability technology Oritain has extended its services to cover the leather sector, aiming to support fashion, luxury and automotive
brands in meeting rising demands for transparency, sustainability and regulatory compliance.
The company’s says its methodology, already applied across apparel, food and agriculture, can now verify the geographic origin of leather from producing countries in Europe, Africa and South America.
Oritain said this capability would help companies comply with new regulations such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which requires a Digital Product Passport.
Chief executive Alyn Franklin said leather sourcing was under increasing scrutiny for environmental and human rights issues. He added that Oritain’s verification services provide brands and tanneries with the insights needed to meet regulatory obligations and strengthen trust with customers.
