• On tariffs, even agreements that may be reached in the coming weeks will hardly be able to heal the damage that has been done very quickly
• In addition to the damage that has already been caused by disruptions to the supply chain, the loss of trust in politics may well continue to have an impact for a long time to come
• Every company that is involved in international trade needs to think about how it can reduce its risks and dependencies in the coming years
• An already complex geopolitical situation has been made worse by renewed conflict between India and Pakistan
• Bad news also includes the fire that destroyed the Ecco Leather tannery in the Netherlands
• But there is good news too: Pasubio’s recent acquisitions in Tuscany must mean that its private equity investors still believe in the leather industry.
MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Not much has changed in the overall situation along the leather supply chain in the last two weeks. How could it, as we are currently almost exclusively influenced by external events? Everything is currently influenced by the expectations of the various individual negotiations regarding the US government’s trade policy. Without definitive decisions, not much can change in the situation. Of course, this applies not only to our sector, but to almost all sectors in what is now a globally networked economy.
There is no doubt that even agreements that may be reached in the coming weeks will hardly be able to heal the fundamental damage that has been done very quickly. In addition to the damage that has already been caused by disruptions to the supply chain, the loss of trust in politics, and in particular in US politics, may well continue to have an impact for a long time to come. This may no longer be reflected in the media headlines, but every company that is involved in international trade needs to think about how it can reduce its risks and dependencies in the coming years. Certainly not an easy task, considering how the geopolitical situation is affecting life at the moment. To make matters worse, an escalation in the tensions between India and Pakistan has led to the worst fighting in years there in recent weeks. A ceasefire is in place but seems fragile.
Aside from the geopolitical situation, the industry has had other sad news. First, there was the complete destruction of the beamhouse and tanning section in a fire at ECCO Leather in the Netherlands. In this case, the entire building had to be completely
abandoned to the fire.
Almost at the same time, the news arrived that the leather factory, Vitelco, also in the Netherlands, will also close in the near future because the conditions for continued operation can no longer be justified. As the site can at least continue to be used for residential purposes, at least a sensible future use is guaranteed. Production will probably cease this summer.
This means that two large calfskin production facilities north of the Alps will disappear. Of course, there is enough free alternative capacity, but the transport routes are getting longer and so is the administration of the supply chain. Of course the suppliers are able to solve these issues, but it is still not good news.
We have not yet been able to find out whether the Ecco Leather factory in Dongen will be rebuilt and become available again. But this would take a lot of time.
Alongside the bad news, however, there was also good news. It has now been officially announced that Pasubio has acquired two leather factories outside its core business. The reason given is an expansion into the leathergoods sector and it may also have to do with the acquisition of additional technical expertise. Considering the problems in the leather industry, this decision is quite remarkable. Pasubio is owned by a large private equity investor. One must therefore assume that, in this is the case, the private equity investors are confident of achieving growth through these acquisitions. This can only testify to a high level of basic trust in the material and the future of leather. Reports say that further investment opportunities in Tuscany and the leather industry have been
TUESDAY, MAY 13 2025
looked at and that a number of other takeover candidates have been identified. It looks from this as though some have no fear for the future of leather in general and production in Europe in particular. If the big money still sees significant potential for returns in this sector.
Considering the very extensive investments already made by luxury goods groups in the leather industry in Tuscany and if further takeovers are indeed on the horizon, it must also be borne in mind that the creative, flexible, owner-managed structure of the leather industry in Tuscany will change. It will be a very exciting topic to see whether the idea of ‘from small, make big’ will become a success story. To date, the big dinosaurs of the industry have tended to be the victims. The list of large companies that failed in the 80s and 90s is quite long. Size has always been more of a burden in the leather industry in Europe and, as always, individual exceptions prove the rule.
It is hard to talk about the leather industry at the moment without discussing the impact of tariff tensions, between the US and China in particular. First of all, the tariffs are a burden on trade in general. Agricultural goods, including cattle hides from the US, are suffering in particular owing to their high dependence on sales to China. Let us not forget that around 30% of cattle hides find their way to China and for certain types, such as cow hides, it can be up to 90%.
For the meat industry, this is more of a logistical challenge than a real economic threat, it is much more dramatic for those who have to make their business success solely from the collection and processing of hides. In addition to the losses that already result from the pending contracts, for many there is hardly any cost-covering revenue for the goods. Either the lack of revenue is borne by the slaughterhouses, or other possibly cheaper alternatives have to be chosen for the disposal of the hides. Of course, this also means that if the situation continues for too long, entire infrastructures will no longer be available in the future. At the moment, however, the industry is having to deal with the consequences of the fall in the price of US hides.
This fall in prices has been significantly exacerbated by the tariffs. In a phase of weaker demand for leather and before the summer, it is not so easy to find new customers for hides destined for China, and potential buyers in other countries can also do the maths. However, this means that those who now have both the courage and the financial resources to lower the average cost price of the raw material will initially have a much better basis for calculation than their
competitors, who cannot or do not want to reduce their prices in turn. Of course, this only applies to leather factories that rely on US hides. The only question here is whether it may be necessary to prepare for more and general price pressure owing to a general trend.
On the other hand, a similar scenario also applies to many finished leather products that came onto the US market from China. Here too, the tariffs have brought business to almost a complete standstill. What is of course dramatic for the suppliers and producers in China on the one hand, but it is also causing a supply bottleneck in the shops in the US. For shoes and furniture, the proportion of deliveries from China is not insignificant. Of course, solutions and alternatives are now being feverishly sought, and of course they do exist. The problem is not so much one of capacity, but rather of redirecting the supply chains, which could have considerable consequences for the future if the changes
actually take place. You don’t just jump back and forth, and if China and the US do not reach an agreement in the short term, this will probably have very far-reaching consequences for the leather and processing industry in China. There is probably still time, but basically it has to be said that the clock is now ticking very quickly. We are hearing from many sides that some countries are promising good opportunities. Of course, here too, everything depends on the future tariff policy of the US.
We note reports on May 12 of a temporary agreement between the US and China. Tariffs are to be reduced for a period of 90 days. Although this would break the almost complete blockade of trade for a time, it can certainly not yet be seen as a solution. Agreements with many other countries are still missing and, above all, it will not restore the trust that has been destroyed.
It is easy to see how crucial customs policy will be for the future of the majority of the
Excellent –Bisphenol optimized syntans to achieve high leather quality
leather industry. For many companies, the time factor will also play a decisive role, as the decisions for production in the second half of 2025 will have to be made within the next six or eight weeks. Tariffs or no tariffs, the world will not stand still and people in the US also want to and will continue to buy products. The only question is where they will come from, what they will cost consumers. Here, too, it is important to remember that US consumers may have to calculate their budgets completely differently in the future and may therefore spend significantly less money on leather products.
There is also not too much to report about the split market at the moment. On the one hand, there is a lack of material because the leather industry is currently producing significantly less. On the other hand, who cattle hides that can replace split from the leather industry are becoming cheaper and cheaper. This, too, will have consequences and may even fundamentally change the situation. This is not to be expected in the short term. At the same time, the market for collagen remains a pillar for the sale of hides that can find their way directly into this application. Here, too, the current situation is in favour of new market conditions and here, too, the players have to make a decision. However, for once this has much less to do with trade policy. This is more about the availability of raw materials, strategic decisions about locations and the costs within the production chain.
There is not much new to report on sheepskins, lambskins and goatskins either. Here, too, the situation in China is having an impact and, as notorious optimists, we can only conclude that at least the high-quality niches and specialities are still operating quite successfully. We would even go so far as to say that we have the impression that people are increasingly focusing on speciality items again.
Making any forecasts for the future at the moment still seems relatively pointless to us. Obviously, the US is currently negotiating individual agreements with a number of countries. Nobody can predict today to what this will lead. One thing is certain, however, and that is that individual agreements with individual countries could potentially have very far-reaching effects on the leather supply chain. It is simple and very obvious that the next decisions between China and the US will be of particular importance. It is not only the leather industry that is important here, but also the earnings of US farmers, who are also very dependent on exports to China and Asia. It should also not be forgotten that there are other countries, particularly in Asia, that are also very important for the leather industry and that differences in the timing of negotiations alone can have a major impact in the short term. In the same way, new news can very quickly overtake our analyses.
US PERSPECTIVE
figure for exports of wet blue was 79,300 pieces.
The most recent reports on hide prices showed butt-branded steer hides weighing 6264 pounds at $13.50 each, and heavy Texas steers weighing 60-62 down again, reaching $9 per piece.
Cow hide prices were starkly down, with northern dairy cows now at $10.50, south-west dairy cows at $10, while northern branded cows were $2 and south-west branded cows at just $1, 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.
Cattle markets USA
Trading this past week occurred early in the south where packers were able to purchase cattle at steady to $2 higher prices. Sales in Texas and Kansas were mainly $218$220. Kansas is proving to be an important swing state, allowing Nebraska and Colorado plants to buy across the state line. Trade in the north was late week, with sales at $225 to $228 live, and $355 to $360 dressed.
Cow slaughter remains in decline from last year and beef producers are encouraged by high calf prices to hold older cows for another calf. The shortfall of the cow slaughter has kept packers pulling from the fed cattle population to put together weekly slaughter needs.
Summer grazing is upon us. Stocker operators looking to furnish calves for summer grass are finding short supplies. The available offerings are sky-high in price taking away much of the incentive to graze unless the operator is willing to bet on larger price increases next fall.
The drought monitor continues to favour herd expansion. April and May rains have been generous across the plains.
The grain stocks report from USDA will allow analysis of the national balance sheet of grain use and disappearance before next fall’s new crop is harvested. Rain and good planting conditions are supportive to this year’s crop, but corn has suffered a recent decline. Corn basis levels in Guymon, Oklahoma, are at $0.90 basis the May contract.
GERMAN PERSPECTIVE
This week: Even though the fundamental situation has not changed, there have been a few things that have caused a stir. Firstly, of course, the major fire at Ecco Leather in the Netherlands, which completely destroyed one of the largest leather factories north of the Alps.
Then there was the news that the Vitelco leather factory, also in the Netherlands, will be closing its doors voluntarily in the near future. It was not really expected that the production capacities in Europe would reduce in this way. Of course, this has no direct impact on the hide market, as the leather industry currently has sufficient capacity to absorb additional quantities for production, if required.
Actual Slaughter Under Federal Inspection
As there is still no definitive conclusion to the dispute over tariffs between the US and China, the pressure to find alternative markets for raw hides from the US is increasing. Of course, this particularly affects cowhides, but other types are also affected. The effect is becoming more and more pronounced and all raw materials that can be replaced by US hides have to face this pressure.
Awareness is also slowly growing that international logistics will also be massively affected by the trade conflict. There are still
many different opinions about the effects, but it is difficult to expect any positive effects. There is some relief worldwide at the moment due to the fall in the kill almost everywhere. The problem would of course be much greater with normal production.
For us, the market remained completely paralysed last week. Somehow you can’t help but get the impression that all producers and tanners are currently trying to withdraw from the market as much as they can. The reduced kill gives the suppliers some breathing space
and therefore the great pressure to agree on new deals and prices has not really built up yet. However, everything stands and falls with the prices that will soon have to be agreed with the slaughterhouses for the coming weeks.
Anything is possible in our business and sometimes people come up with great ideas. However, in view of the current situation, it would be grossly negligent at the moment not to take account of the huge numbers of available hides from the US.
It should not be forgotten that even before April 2, Liberation Day, demand for leather was not sufficient to fully absorb the supply of hides. Relatively little has changed in terms of price this week. Lower grades and favourable female hides continue to be covered by collagen production options. For male and heavy hides, the pressure is starting to build up further, even if the low kill is still giving suppliers some time at the moment. However, this does not change the
parameters of the market. The next two weeks will show the results and how the big players in particular are dealing with the situation.
The kill: The kill remains low, even though there was no further public holiday-reduced production last week. Obviously there is still too little cattle supply, which on the one hand makes it difficult for slaughterhouses to fill their production, but on the other hand is not necessarily surprising for this time of year. In our region, nature is about four weeks ahead of schedule, which also means that the cattle are already finding sufficient feed in the pastures.
What we expect: Because of the low slaughter rates, we believe that the market for cheap hides is well secured and the only thing that needs to be considered is if the collection and processing costs can be covered. This is already very difficult with smaller productions. We are expecting tough negotiations for male hides, as on the one hand the productions in the leather factory have to be filled and this
is not too easy with the low kill every year in spring and summer. On the other hand, we have no reason to believe that the leather business has improved in any way, which means that pressure on prices from customers for males is likely to increase. Of course, global influences also play an important role here.
LONG READ
Leather and the Circular Economy: Leather Leaders: Gustavo González-Quijano
A clearer identity
The secretary general of the industry’s main representative body in the European Union is hopeful of greater support for industry in general from the new European Commission. He believes leather stands to gain because it will stand out as “the perfect material for the circular economy”.
How would you sum up the situation of the global leather industry in 2025?
Well it is really a very difficult moment that we are living through, globally, not only in the European industry. This is because of the geopolitical challenges that exist, starting with the implication of the wars (in the plural, unfortunately) that are going on. There are very important problems to face in Ukraine, in the Middle East and elsewhere. Beyond the human tragedy, all that has an impact on global trade; a lot of freight goes through the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal. Energy prices are rocketing. US president, Donald Trump, seems to be a little bit nervous when it comes to applying tariffs to many trading partners. With all of this, Europe’s competitiveness is falling and you have a panorama that is not very easy. But it is important that we recognise these things, take stock and address the issues. We have to live in the real world. But, at the same time, we need to bear in mind that, in leather, we have a product that holds lots of good cards for the future.
What, within this, is the state of play in the leather industry in Europe?
The situation in Europe is the result of the policies that the previous EU Commission developed around its Green Deal strategy, with Frans Timmermans as the vice-president who had responsibility for climate action and for the Green Deal between 2019 and 2023. He gave a lot of leeway to DG Environment, the directorate-general of the European Commission that has responsibility for environmental policy. With very good intentions, DG Environment put forward a number of regulations that have had a serious impact on the European economy, weakening the economy overall and prompting
LATEST HIDE AND SKIN PRICES FROM GERMANY
important companies to exit Europe. This is now going to be addressed by the current Commission, which took office in December 2024. It has already put forward a number of so-called ‘omnibus packages’ in an attempt to reduce red tape and improve efficiency. Now we have the Competitiveness Compass, a new roadmap to boost economic growth. We all want the objectives to be achieved, but the way the objectives have materialised in regulations is totally unrealistic. That is why it is important for a kind of redrawing of the legislation to take place and make it more realistic.
What is the European Commission’s level of sympathy for and understanding of the work of the hide traders, tanners and craftspeople who work in the leather value chain in the European Union?
It is still early days for this new Commission. We will need to wait and see what the proposals look like when they arrive. For the time being, I don’t yet have too much of a sense of how things are going to go. We have written to the commissioner for the environment and to the commissioner for industry to ask for meetings with them. So far, we are still waiting for a response. What I can say is that it looks as though the new policies that the new Commission has outlined will be much more aligned with the needs of the industry, and not only of our industry, but all industries. For example, it will address Farm to Fork, a strategy it first published in 2020, and there will be new agricultural objectives. And, for industry, there will be a new competitiveness deal that will be implemented.
Based on long years of working to build unity and leadership in the leather industry, what, in your opinion, are the main factors that have prevented
higher levels of both unity and leadership in the global industry?
The leather industry is a fragmented sector. We do not have any leverage with our suppliers and we do not have any capacity to influence our customers. We are squeezed between two worlds. Maybe we are going to continue to be torn between these two worlds, or maybe we are going to become part of one or the other, part of the world of the meat companies that supply the hides, or part of the luxury and fashion sectors that use finished leather. I don’t know. But, in any case, the industry is struggling to find its place and occupy it. We have medium-sized enterprises, small and micro enterprises, and many craft enterprises. It is difficult to bring all of these together. We have a fantastic organisation at international level, the International Council of Tanners, managed wonderfully by its secretary, Dr Kerry Senior, from Leather UK, and under the current leadership of Bekir Burak Uyguner from Turkey. They are doing a really good job of making people from
different countries understand how important it is to come together under one system of governance. There is no need to create a new organisation or a new association. That is not necessary. But we need to use the organisations that exist in the sector already. They can bring people together and make sure we are all pulling on the same thread together. We don’t need a new organisation. What we need is fewer free-riders.
What have been the main consequences of the lack of a single voice for the industry?
The consequences are clear to everybody: we don’t have the influence that we should have. Other industries have been able to bring together the whole value chain and to speak with one voice, and they are more successful than us. If we do not achieve this unity, we are going to struggle in the future. I think now is the time to make this paradigm shift and come together to pull on the same thread at the same time and achieve our objectives.
Leather leadership, worldw ide. worldwide.
What could bring about this paradigm shift in the current context in which we are living and working?
What we are working to make clear is that leather is the perfect material for the circular economy and that is the future. We hold all the cards for achieving this. Leather is a natural material. It is biodegradable at the end of life. It is renewable at the beginning of the lifecycle. It is one of the most beautiful materials that exist and one of the most durable materials for the future. Recognition of these qualities is what we need to push for. If we can push all together we may achieve our objectives.
What grounds are there for optimism that the industry can achieve this in the second half of the 2020s?
Europe is maybe one of the regions that is introducing most of the regulations that are driving changes in the global leather industry. We need to come up with authenticity rules. The US is doing this with the proposed Consumer Protection and Automotive Transparency Act in the state of New York. We in Europe are working on integrating leather authenticity rules into textile labelling regulations. This is going to give to the industry a clearer identity and the chance to link to this identity a number of features that are important for the circular economy. That is why we have hope for the future. The circular economy is going to be a game-changer for many industries, including for our industry. For our industry it is going to have a positive impact because we will be able to show that our environmental credentials put leather ahead of other materials that are competing for the same markets. I think our customers and brands are going to be able to identify leather as one of the most sustainable materials you can have.
Will this also impact public spending? If public spending needs to go on sustainable products, will this help make sure there is leather in the furniture, footwear, cars, public transport and so on that governments spend money on?
There are rules about public procurement and there are going to be more rules in place for green public procurement. For now, textiles is a sector that is much more active in this area. We need to work to make leather part of the requirement for green public procurement. That’s why it is important to make sure there are sound eco-design requirements and an EU identity in the textile labelling regulation. Eco-design requirements for footwear are coming in 2026 or 2027 and we are already working on relevant horizontal aspects and looking at what is going on in the textiles sector. Requirements for textiles are probably going to be used as a model for setting up the requirements for leather. Yet, questions concerning durability and biodegradability are not the same for leather Leather is a global business. is global business. More than 95% of US hides are than 95% of US hides are exported, with value added across value added across the globe. A strong leather globe. A strong leather
as for textiles. For example, we want biodegradability to be recognised as recycling at the end of life. It is recycling, with nature. Over time COTANCE has been participating in, contributing to, sponsoring and promoting peer-reviewed scientific papers. These include one on the absence of links between leather and deforestation that the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa published last year, and one on carbon analysis that Ars Tinctoria published in 2023. There was also the paper comparing leather against synthetic substitutes that FILK published in 2021. We have a number of science-backed documents that we can use to put forward the environmental credentials of leather, from a factual point of view.
EUROPE
Cars and beef part of new deal between the UK and the US
The US and the UK have announced a new ‘Economic Prosperity Deal’, which alters the tariff status of a number of products that the two countries trade. These include beef and cars.
In a statement, the UK department of business and trade explained that US beef exports to the UK are currently subject to a 20% tariff within a quota of 1,000 tonnes. Under the new deal, the UK will remove the 20% tariff and will create “a preferential dutyfree quota” of 13,000 tonnes of US beef.
In return, the US will “reallocate to the UK” 13,000 tonnes of its ‘other countries’ tariff rate quota TRQ for beef. The TRQ allows for specific volumes of beef to enter the US at preferential tariffs.
Also as part of the Economic Prosperity Deal, the US will create an import quota of 100,000 vehicles from the UK that will have a 10% tariff rate. In announcements US president, Donald Trump, made on tariffs in March and April, vehicles made outside the US were subject to a tariff of 25%.
New liquid dye range for leather finishing launched by GSC
Italian leather chemicals manufacturer GSC Group has released a new liquid dye range for leather finishing under the name Prismalux.
The company says Prismalux is the result of targeted research and development and offers high colour yield, technical consistency, and supply reliability.
Formulated to support both visual and performance outcomes, the dyes are described as versatile, with uniform application, good resistance, and long-lasting colour effects.
GSC Group has also highlighted the operational benefits of Prismalux, stating that most shades in the range are classified as nonADR. This reduces complexity in storage and transport, contributing to lower logistics costs.
According to the company, the majority of products in the new range are certified under the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) programme.
Audi cautious but strong Q1 for Lamborghini
Carmaker
Audi reported a 12% revenue increase in the first three months of 2025 to €15.4 billion.
Operating profit totalled €537 million. Net cash flow amounted to € -61 million.
CEO Gernot Döllner said: “The first few months of 2025 saw us take decisive steps towards repositioning our company. This includes the agreement for the future concluded between company management and the works council in March, which aims to increase productivity, speed and flexibility at our German sites.
"The year will continue to be very challenging due to the global economic conditions. But Audi has started to execute its strategy and is delivering on it. We are particularly encouraged by sales and order intake for our new electric models.”
The brand will also be launching 10 plugin hybrid models by the end of this year.
Automobili Lamborghini, also owned by Volkswagen, bucked the trend with strong
QUAKER COLOR A STEP
AHEAD IN AUTOMOTIVE
FINISHING
results for the quarter: 2,967 cars delivered with a revenue of €895.2 million, up 30% on the same period last year.
However, with the US as the company’s largest market (933 units delivered), the impact of tariffs is expected to be felt in subsequent quarters. The next biggest markets in the quarter were Germany (366), the UK (272), Japan (187) and Italy (143).
Stephan Winkelmann, CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, said: “The results from the first quarter confirm the strength of our brand, even in an uncertain economic context. Global demand remains high, and the figures recorded demonstrate once again the validity of our strategy to combine performance, innovation and exclusivity, while keeping quality and personalisation at its core.”
Bentley delivered 2,388 cars from January to March 2025, a slight decline on the 2,506 delivered in the same period last year. This resulted in revenue of €661 million (Q1 2024: €688 million).
The Volkswagen Group comprises 10
Supplying innovative
Quaker Color is a division of McAdoo & Allen, with roots in the leather industry for over a century
one on site at the time and the authorities in the Dutch town have confirmed that there were no injuries.
It took until 5.30 on the morning of Monday, May 5, for the fire service to declare that the blaze was under control and, by then, the building was destroyed. The authorities said they were not concerned about air pollution but that they were working to contain any contamination from run-off water used to bring the fire under control.
In a statement, the Ecco Group told us: “We are deeply saddened by the fire at our factory. At this early stage, investigations are still ongoing, so we don’t have many details to share. There was no one in the building at the time, so fortunately there was no personal damage. Our full focus is now on our employees and resuming our operations so we can continue to serve consumers across the globe.”
Sustainable product solutions feature in new Stahl design collection
Chemicals
group Stahl has announced a new premium leather design collection for Spring-Summer 2026.
Presenting a series of new concepts for leather in automotive, apparel, accessories, and interior design applications, the latest collection features design items based on 20 Pantone trend colours and incorporates sustainable leather-finishing solutions.
Four creative directions define the new season: Mischief, which revisits vintage fashion codes with playful updates; Oxygenation, influenced by outdoor functionality and a search for mental clarity; Communion, inspired by 1970s bohemian lifestyles and sensorial wellbeing; and Unsacred, which explores irony, repurposing, and visual contrast through recycled materials and graphic references.
According to Stahl, the collection offers both inspiration and practical material solutions in line with current design and sustainability priorities.
Cheap hide prices free Turkish gelatine manufacturers from tannery ties
Recent statistics from Turkey appear to provide confirmation of the increase in demand for cattle hides from gelatine manufacturers.
Turkey now has six factories devoted to the production of gelatine from bovine sources. For some time, they have used lime split, bought from tanneries, as their main source of collagen. Increasingly, though, they are now sourcing whole hides.
New figures show that in the year from March 2024 to March 2025, Turkish gelatine manufacturers imported 2.2 million raw hides from Latin America and elsewhere.
These companies said that hide prices were now cheap enough for them to bypass tanneries as a source of their raw material. They reported paying between 30 and 50 US cents per kilo for the hides.
Time to become ‘water-positive’, Kering says
Luxury group Kering has announced a new water strategy. It said launching a dedicated policy on water was “a pivotal stage” in its wider science-backed approach to sustainability.
It has called the new initiative its WaterPositive Strategy. This consists of three key programmes through which it will aim to deliver “on-the-ground transformation and water-positive outcomes”.
The first of these is to centre the group’s raw material sourcing on “materials that alleviate pressures on nature and water”. It said this would include increasing the volume of materials deriving from regenerative agriculture, which, it explained, will help reduce pollution and replenish watersheds.
It said this focus on materials would also include recycled fabrics and “innovative alternatives”.
Next, the Water-Positive Strategy will include a programme in which Kering will
work with strategic suppliers to tackle shared challenges. Here, it said chrome-free and lowimpact tanning agents would be part of its focus, based on the idea that these leather chemicals can help increase water efficiency and improve water availability and water quality in places where Kering suppliers manufacture leather.
The third strand of the strategy will be a programme of new, dedicated waterresilience laboratories. The group has said it will set these up in ten priority areas by 2035, in partnership with regional stakeholders, suppliers, other companies, local communities, and public authorities.
A first laboratory will launch this autumn in Tuscany, home to many of the tanneries that make leather for Kering and suppliers to those tanneries. The group said the role of these laboratories will be to “create momentum for a water-positive paradigm shift”.
Its chief sustainability officer, Marie-Claire Daveu, said on launching the strategy: “It is crucial that water commitments evolve from
makes it natural
Sports group adidas has confirmed its firstquarter revenues at €6.1 billion, an increase of 12.7% year on year. The group had released these figures in a preliminary report on April 24.
On confirming them on April 29, chief executive, Bjørn Gulden, gave a detailed explanation of the difficulty the tariff situation is already causing for adidas.
He said that, in a normal market, such a strong quarter would have led the group to increase its outlook for revenues and profits for the full year. He explained that it was impossible for the company to issue adjusted outlook figures because of the uncertainty the tariff announcements of early April have generated.
Mr Gulden said adidas had already reduced exports of its products from China to the US “to a minimum”, but that the group was still “somewhat exposed” to the trade tension between the two largest economies in the world. Exports from China to the US are, at the moment, subject to tariffs of 145%.
“What is even worse for us is the general increase in US tariffs from all other countries of origin,” the adidas chief executive continued. “Since we cannot produce almost any of our products in the US, these higher tariffs will eventually cause higher costs for all our products for the US market.”
Given the uncertainty around the negotiations between the US and exporting countries, he said adidas found itself unable to make definitive decisions about what to do.
Sensory-inclusive automotive interior concepts from Bridge. of Weir
Bridge of Weir Leather, part of the Scottish Leather Group, has introduced a new range of sensory-inclusive automotive interior concepts, aimed at supporting comfort and reducing stress for all vehicle occupants, particularly those who are neurodiverg
The designs form part of the company’s ‘Conscious Collection’, which explores multisensory approaches to automotive
interiors by using carefully selected colours, textures and patterns.
The collection draws on feedback from neurodivergent individuals, alongside research from sister company Muirhead, a major supplier to the global aviation industry.
Bridge of Weir Leather says the initiative seeks to inspire car designers to consider how interior materials can contribute to a more inclusive and calming travel experience.
Glasgow hosts 2025 SLTC conference
TheUK’s Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists (SLTC) hosted its 127th international conference on April 25 and 26. The event took place in Glasgow this year.
There were speakers from Italy, South Africa and Lithuania, as well as from the UK. This year’s Atkin Memorial Lecture came from Dr Kerry Senior, director of Leather UK and secretary of the International Council of Tanners. He spoke about the role of technology in the future of leather.
The Atkin Memorial Lecture is the SLTC conference’s keynote presentation. It commemorates that contribution to the leather industry of William Atkin, who lectured in leather chemistry and leather manufacturing at the University of Leeds for a large part of the twentieth century.
Delegates also had the opportunity to tour Scottish Leather Group’s manufacturing facilities in Renfrewshire and attend a gala dinner in the evening, during which the presidency of the Society was formally handed over to Sustainable Leather Foundation’s Deborah Taylor, succeeding outgoing president Professor William Wise of Eurofins Sustainability Services.
Explosion at tanning wastewater treatment plant in Turkey
An explosion has occurred at the wastewater treatment plant at the tanning industry cluster at Tuzla in Turkey. Five people working in the area at the time were injured and taken to hospital; the authorities said one of the injuries was serious.
The explosion occurred on April 23, the same day as an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 hit the region, injuring more than 350 people. However, initial reports say the likely cause of the explosion was a build-up of biogas in one of the tanks at the plant.
A substantial volume of waste spilled into the area around the industrial zone. A cleanup operation is under way.
Local leather industry representatives are working with the Tuzla municipality and government ministries on a formal investigation into the explosion.
Heritage leather recreates bygone era for Bentley
Bentley Motors has introduced Heritage Leather, developed by Mulliner and supplied by Bridge of Weir, to its latest Continental GT Mulliner.
At the end of 2024, tanneries across 23 of Brazil’s 26 states employed a total of 30,982 people.
By the end of the first quarter of this year, according to figures that national industry association CICB has shared, the industry employed a total of 32,016 people in 24 states. This represents an increase of 3.3% so far this year.
Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo registered the highest increases and the highest totals. Rio Grande do Sul’s leather sector added 429 jobs in the first quarter of 2025 to take its total to 8,397. For São Paulo, the increase was 206, with the total for the state rising to 6,367.
Other states with more than 1,000 people working in leather production were Paraná, Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso and Santa Catarina.
Beef growth for Tyson
Packer and tanning group Tyson has reported revenues of just under $26.7 billion for the first six months of its current financial year, the period ending March 29, 2025. This indicates growth of 0.8% year on year.
Its beef division contributed more than $10.5 billion to the total and Tyson said it had increased its beef production by 2% in volume and by 4.5% in value compared to the first half of the previous financial year.
JBS: agriculture needs more climate financing
Gilberto Tomazoni, the CEO of meat group and tannery owner JBS, has said more climate spending needs to be directed towards agriculture, when he spokes at the
Sustainable Business COP in São Paulo.
He said: "Currently, less than 4% of climate change investments go to agriculture, and only 1.7% of climate financing is allocated to projects in rural areas of developing countries.
"We cannot treat climate and food security as separate issues. We must place agriculture at the heart of this discussion. We need to increase productivity and improve how we produce.”
He cited JBS’ livestock tracking programme as having a beneficial effect. "There are fantastic projects in Brazil that can be used and have scaled in other countries," he said.
He also emphasised the need to involve the whole production chain, from seeds and fertilisers to commercialisation, and to develop appropriate metrics for measuring emissions and capturing greenhouse gases in tropical agriculture.
40 years of operations in Brazil for Codina Group
The Codina Group is marking 40 years since it began operating in Brazil in 1978, when it leased a tannery in Juazeiro, Bahia. It acquired a second facility in Parnaíba, Piauí, in 1985, renaming it Curtume Cobrasil Ltda.
The company was originally established in Vic (Barcelona), Spain, in 1941 by Joan Codina Deordal. In the 1970s, it began importing Brazilian hides. After Brazil introduced a ban on raw hide exports in the late 1970s, Codina moved to establish production in the country.
It initially operated as a beamhouse, exporting wet blue to Spain and other European tanneries but by the late 2000s, all production had been moved to Brazil. The Parnaíba plant currently processes around
8,000 skins per day and employs about 150 people.
The Codina Group specialises in the tanning of lamb and hair sheep skins. It expanded with a plant in Novo Hamburgo in 2009 and one in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal, in 2019.
AFRICA
Lagos State to inaugurate industrial leather hub in 2025
The Lagos State Government has confirmed to local media that its industrial leather hub at Matori, in the Mushin area of the state, will be inaugurated in the second quarter of 2025.
Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Akinyemi Ajigbotafe, announced the timeline during the 2025 Lagos State Ministerial Press Briefing in Ikeja. The briefing marked the second anniversary of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office.
Mr Ajigbotafe said the hub was established to support artisans and entrepreneurs operating within the state’s leather value chain. He stated that the facility will provide equipment and infrastructure for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and contribute to employment generation and skills development.
He added that the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment is focused on supporting nano, micro, small and mediumsized businesses through infrastructure and sustainable initiatives.
OCEANIA
Record April for Australian beef, despite Trump complaints
Exports of beef from Australia in April reached a volume of 127,172 tonnes, a new record for the month and a 21% increase overall compared to the same month last year.
Shipments to the US increased by 37% year on year to reach 37,213 tonnes for April. This is in spite of comments that US president, Donald Trump, specifically about beef trade between his country and Australia at the start of the month.
At his Liberation Day presentation of new tariffs that the US is imposing on its trading partners, President Trump said there would be a baseline tariff of 10% on imports from Australia. He said: “Australians are wonderful people, but they ban American beef. They won’t take any of our beef, yet we imported $3 billion of Australian beef last year alone.”
Global supply analyst at Meat and Livestock Australia, Tim Jackson, said North America remained the largest market for Australian beef exports. In addition to the large increase in shipments to the US, he explained that exports to Canada had increased by 40% in April, reaching 3,322 tonnes in volume.
