2 News map News highlights from around the global leather industry.
4 Industry & Innovation New technology, new ideas from leather industry suppliers and service providers.
6 Leatherscene People from around the industry and famous lovers of leather who have made the headlines in recent weeks.
8 Backtrack Headlines from www.leatherbiz.com, the industry’s best and most complete news website. Leatherbiz is now in its 25th year. You can read about almost everything that has happened in the global leather industry this century on leatherbiz. No other news archive comes close.
Leather Leaders
13 Lesson plan The chair of the training commission of the International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies, Dr Christine Anscombe, shares her hopes for the future of leather education across the globe..
Technology
16 Monomer monitoring New research on ways of reducing free monomers in retanning agents, while maintaining performance levels, has come to light from GSC.
20 AI at the cutting edge Artificial intelligence is aiding automated trimming in the wet phase of leather production in a new system from technology provider Corium.
23 Chemical modification Five organisations in the leather value chain in Italy have worked together to develop a new generation of natural tannins, modifying the products chemically to improve performance while reducing environmental impact.
26 Compostable credentials New tanning chemistry is making it easier for tanners and finished product manufacturers to bring to market things that are biodegradable by design.
30 Made to measure The industry is making progress in developing methods for measuring melamine content in finished leather and leather products.
Leather and the Circular Economy
35 Thought Leadership: Another false dawn for promised plastic pollution solution The world has waited in vain, again, for a United Nations resolution to end the global plastic pollution crisis to be turned into action. Angry and disappointed consumers can be convinced to turn to leather instead.
42 Thought Leadership: Added value Raw material prices have fallen while many finished product prices have increased. This means the value that manufacturers and retailers can add to hides has gone through the roof.
46 Thought Leadership: Water-positive Luxury group Kering wants to “restore, regenerate and transform” water cycles in ten production hotspots around the world.
50 Circular Stories: Buy better President of Italy’s national tanning industry association, Fabrizio Nuti, insists that brands that seek growth and better sustainability credentials must invest in high-quality leather.
54 Circular Stories: Record-breaker The original Hermès Birkin bag has sold at auction for a record-breaking price.
57 Circular Stories: Money to be made Resale, repair and reuse programmes can help leathergoods brands attract younger consumers to their lastingly beautiful products.
60 Essential reading IBC Advertisers’ index
Cover image: In the face of the failure of new attempts at the UN to agree a treaty on ending plastic pollution, a consumer backlash seems inevitable. Leather has a chance to become the material of choice for more of the world’s citizens.
CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK/ANATOLI STYF.
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The World of News
UK The London-based publisher of Leather International has confirmed that it will no longer produce the title. It was founded in 1867 and reported on developments in the leather industry in the 158 years since then. Now, though, the current publisher, Business Trade Media International, has said in a statement: “We regret to inform you that Leather International has been discontinued and will not be published further.”
FRANCE French leather manufacturer
Tannerie Sovos is to open a new showroom at its site in Le Thillot in the Vosges department in the east of France. It said visitors had already been to the site to view finished hides from its most recent collections, but also finished products made from the leather. These included pieces produced by partners in the famous furniture-making town of Liffol-le-Grand, 120 kilometres away.
EGYPT Egypt’s ministry of industry has asked for applications for the second phase of investment at Roubiki Leather City. Thirtysix fully equipped units for leathergoods manufacturing are available. Applications had to be submitted before the end of July. Located in Badr City, Roubiki is a government-backed industrial zone designed to support high-value leather manufacturing and boost export capacity.
EUROPEAN UNION The leather industry’s main representative body in the European Union, COTANCE, is to move to new headquarters in Brussels. The new COTANCE office is spacious, centrally located and close to the European Parliament and other important EU institutions. Industry leaders have said they hope this new location will become an important point of reference for all industry bodies and associations with links to the leather supply chain.
ITALY Fashion brand Zegna is building a new leathergoods and footwear production facility at Sala Baganza, near Parma. The company has said that, when complete, the site will cover 12,500 square-metres and will employ 300 people. Chief executive, Gildo Zegna, grandson of the company’s founder, said that, when the new site is fully operational, it will make half of all its footwear there. He said the company had also set up its own academy for training new-generation artisans.
TURKEY Turkey’s ministry of agriculture has said an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle is spreading across the country. It has begun a vaccination programme at farms across the whole country. Officials have said they believe live cattle imported into Turkey in time for the Eid-al-Adha festival in early June and the movement of live animals to different parts of Turkey for the festival are possible sources of the disease.
KENYA The country’s cabinet secretary for investments, trade and industry, Lee Kinyanjui, has announced the signing of a $39 million lease agreement to put in operation the Kenanie Leather Industrial Park in Machakos County. The deal, signed on August 7 by the Kenya Leather Development Council (KLDC) and the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA), ends a decade-long delay in activating the 500-acre facility, which is equipped with tanneries, manufacturing warehouses, serviced plots, utilities, ICT systems and a common effluent treatment plant.
UZBEKISTAN Chinese companies have held talks with the national leather association in Uzbekistan to explore opportunities in leather and footwear there. Ming Feng, a footwear manufacturer producing over 2 million pairs annually, expressed interest in sourcing finished leather from Uzbekistan. Dongguan Xianfeng announced plans to invest in a new production facility in one of Uzbekistan’s specialised industrial zones. The plant would produce footwear and leathergoods for local and export markets.
CHINA The China Leather Industry Association (CLIA) has shared information on the performance of the industry there in the first five months of 2025. From January to May, it said tanners in China imported 608,000 tonnes of raw hides and skins, paying $500 million for them, a decrease of 4% in volume and of 14% in value. Imports of semi-finished leather reached 268,000 tonnes, with a value of $400 million, an increase of 7.9% in volume, but a fall of 6.9% in value. Imports of finished leather reached 15,000 tonnes in volume and $230 million in value, down by 15.1% and 20.2%, respectively, year on year.
US Luxury brand Louis Vuitton will open a second leathergoods workshop in Texas in 2027. The company opened a first workshop there, in the town of Alvarado, in 2019. During recent tariff negotiations, the US has made it clear that it wanted European companies to manufacture more products in the US. Chief executive of parent group LVMH, Bernard Arnault, has said its experience with Louis Vuitton gave him confidence that an expansion of production in the US is feasible.
The World of News
CANADA High-end automotive company Bentley Motors is to open three new showrooms in North America. It has chosen Santa Barbara, California, San Antonio, Texas, and Oakville, Ontario, as the locations for its new openings. Bentley said there was “exceptional momentum” for the brand in the US and Canada. These three additions take the total number of outlets Bentley has in the Americas to 63. This region is the company’s largest market.
SOUTH KOREA High-end automotive company Maybach, part of Mercedes-Benz, has opened a new brand centre in Seoul. The site, in the South Korean capital’s Gangnam district, is on five floors, with a total area of nearly 2,800 square-metres. One of the floors is home to a studio dedicated to helping customers make customisation choices for bespoke vehicles. Branded Maybach accessories, including leathergoods, are also on offer at the site.
COLOMBIA A new edition of an open-air artisan fair to celebrate local leather craftsmanship took place in Bogotá from August 8-10. For a number of years now, Bogotá’s chamber of commerce has invited manufacturers of leather, leathergoods and footwear to take part in the fair, Talento al Parque (Talent in the Park). On this occasion, around 100 business owners took part, mostly from the Restrepo, San Benito and Villapinzón districts of the Colombian capital.
JAPAN The fifth International Leather Craft Exhibition, sponsored by the Japan Leather Craft Association, took place in Tokyo in July. The association said: “From works of superb craftsmanship to fun works by beginners, this is an exhibition where all kinds of possibilities come together under the common theme of leather.” The association is selling a limited number of past exhibition catalogues, and will create a catalogue of the new exhibits in due course.
ARGENTINA Argentinean tannery Curtiembre Arlei has issued a statement in response to reports it says were aimed at damaging its reputation and the personal standing of its management team. It said these reports followed a dispute in local politics in Santa Fe, where it has its headquarters. Arlei insists on keeping out of local or national political disputes. It said it would take legal action against the media involved.
PERU The 21 Brazilian leather and footwear components companies that attended the Expo Detalles exhibition in early August have calculated that a combined total of $2.1 million in revenues are likely to come in as a result. Their participation was made possible by Brazilian Materials. This is a dedicated export support programme for the leather and footwear components sector, maintained by industry body Assintecal in partnership with the national export and promotion agency ApexBrasil.
Industry & Innovation
New biopolymer research
Spanish leather chemicals manufacturer
Cromogenia has launched the Biopol Project, a new R&D initiative developing biopolymers from renewable sources and agro-food waste.
The project aims to replace petrochemical products in tanning and retanning with eco-friendly alternatives based on alginate and starch polymers.
In collaboration with the University of Barcelona, the 25-month project will develop and test polyaldehyde and hydrolysed biopolymer prototypes to reduce CO2 emissions and hazardous waste while maintaining or improving performance.
The project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Spanish Centre for Technological Development and Innovation.
Cromogenia said, “We continue to push the boundaries of sustainable chemistry with the Biopol Project, focused on biopolymers from renewable sources and agro-food waste to replace petrochemical products in tanning processes.”
TFL to present new technologies at ACLE
Leather chemicals specialist TFL will take part in the All China Leather Exhibition (ACLE) 2025, which runs from September 3–5 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.
The company will present a new collection of leathers in the forecast colours for autumn-winter 2026–27, developed for footwear, leathergoods and automotive interiors.
Highlights will include an expanded Tanigan range of bisphenol-free syntans.
TFL will also introduce Roda line, a product range developed for transfer coating, offering a more sustainable alternative to conventional finishing.
Bergi to mark anniversary
Tanning technology developer Bergi will mark its 60th anniversary at this year’s Simac Tanning Tech exhibition. The company was founded by Giovanni Bergozza in the 1960s.
Now run by the third generation of the Bergozza family, the company has maintained a longstanding focus on mechanical engineering for the leather industry.
Bergi’s early developments included the first arm-type padding machine and improvements to buffing and pressing systems. In the 1980s and 1990s, the company expanded into international markets, including Asia, with equipment for ironing and embossing leather.
Leathergoods teachers attend workshops
Summer workshops took place in Portugal and Spain in July to help trainers, tutors, and teachers across Europe in their work to pass on leathergoods knowledge and skills to new generations of workers.
The two boot-camps took place as part of a project called Learning Factories. The project launched in 2023 and will run until October 2025. Its main objective has been to upgrade the training process in the leathergoods sector in Europe and, through this, to help manufacturers attract and retain workers while giving them the skills required to support a “green and digital transformation” of the sector and increase its competitiveness.
Small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies have taken part, as have publicand private-sector providers of vocational education training in different parts of Europe. The initiative has had the backing of the European Footwear Federation (CEC) and Portuguese industry body CTCP. It has been co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
The summer boot-camps took place in São João da Madeira, near Porto, and in Ubrique in southern Spain. There were workshops, company visits and “co-creation sessions”. Teachers and trainers in leathergoods from Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Romania and Poland took part.
The 2000s saw the introduction of the Bertech brand and a wider range of machines for leather handling.
At this year’s fair, Bertech will present a new monitoring programme for energy use and maintenance, as part of ongoing efforts to improve automation and process control. A further machine concept is planned for launch in 2026.
Mexico centre of excellence complete
Leather chemicals group Stahl has formally inaugurated its new centre of excellence for leather finishing in León, Mexico.
The project involved relocation of the facility to a new site and enhancing the laboratory and testing technology the company has in place there.
Stahl said this investment was a reflection of its commitment to delivering “advanced, lower-impact products to customers across Latin America”.
It added that this project was part of a wider strategy that had led to the doubling of Stahl’s production capacity in China, a new production facility at Ranipet in India, a new centre of excellence in the US, a new laboratory in Japan and a new coatings facility in Singapore.
Zünd to debut leathercutting system
Cutting systems specialist Zünd will showcase a new level of automation and integration in leather processing at this year’s Simac Tanning Tech trade fair.
In partnership with software firms Mind and Mindhive Global, the company will present the Captura Workflow for the first time.
Captura combines AI, machine vision and digital cutting in a fully integrated process, aimed at improving the precision, speed and reliability of hide detection, classification and cutting.
Tapestry expands investment
Accessories group Tapestry has expanded its partnership with Gen Phoenix, the UK-based company formerly known as E-Leather.
The agreement includes a three-year contracted supply deal and an increased equity stake from Tapestry, raising its shareholding to 9.9%.
Gen Phoenix uses milled leather off-cuts and post-consumer materials to produce sheets made from two layers of fibre web with a textile core, bonded using water pressure. The materials are designed to offer alternatives to leather and synthetics.
Industry & Innovation
Special anniversary for GER
Measuring machine specialist GER Elettronica marks its 50th anniversary in 2025.
Founded in 1975 in Italy’s Vicenza tanning district, the company began by developing electronic devices for leather finishing and motor control, before expanding into advanced measurement and automation solutions.
GER Elettronica said its success was the result of long-term investment, innovation and a committed team, and represented a platform for future progress in quality and performance.
To mark the occasion, the company received a special award at the recent ASSOMAC general assembly, held in Bergamo.
FILK to update study
Germany-based research and testing organisation FILK has confirmed that it is working on an update to its groundbreaking 2021 study comparing the performance of leather with that of synthetic alternative materials.
FILK’s original research was published in an international, peer-reviewed journal, Coatings, and has earned more than 55,000 views and almost 100 citations.
After more than four years, however, it has suddenly come under attack from the manufacturer of one of the synthetic alternative materials the study featured.
Mexico-based producer of a cactusbased material, Desserto, published a blog post questioning FILK’s “scientific neutrality”. It alleged that because leather industry body COTANCE had procured samples of alternative materials for FILK to analyse, the report’s findings “lose scientific weight and lean into the territory of industry-funded advocacy”. It even used the phrase ‘Science for sale’ in the title it applied to the post.
When it reposted the blog entry on LinkedIn, FILK responded with patience and politeness, saying it welcomed “critical engagement” with its scientific work and was committed to “a constructive and objective dialogue”.
It made it clear that the original study was conducted independently, without external funding and provided full transparency regarding its testing procedures and evaluation criteria.
FILK then said an updated version of the study is currently in preparation.
Full-hide finishing to go on show
Gemata and its subsidiary Costa will introduce two new leather finishing lines at Simac Tanning Tech 2025.
Full Greenfinish and Top Greenfinish
systems claim to enable in-line upgrading of full hides for the first time, offering an alternative to traditional release paper methods typically limited to half hides. They are aimed at tanneries serving the automotive and furniture sectors.
Full Greenfinish uses a patented Costa process that combines embossing cylinders with a recyclable film, allowing grain imprinting at low temperature and pressure.
The technology has reportedly been in use for three years at a tannery in Arzignano and is said to improve yield, reduce environmental impact, and deliver uniform surface quality.
Top Greenfinish adds a spread-coating function to the film process, making fullhide finishing possible.
A prototype will be available for testing at Gemata’s Trissino headquarters from September. Both lines aim to reduce chemical use, lower production costs, and increase design flexibility.
Court success in Germany
German
leather industry association
VDL has won an important court case. It successfully challenged a company’s use of the term ‘leather’ in products made from synthetic materials.
Under competition laws in Germany, some trade associations have the authority to issue legal warnings to companies whose marketing messages are likely to mislead or confuse consumers.
It exercised this right in a case against a company called Mina Merchandising GmbH, which was selling dog collars made from synthetic material marketed as ‘apple leather’.
Mina Merchandising is a company founded by Martin Rütter, a well known television personality, who specialises in dog-training.
The company received a formal warning from VDL about its misuse of the term ‘leather’, but Mina Merchandising ignored it. This brought the matter to court.
A first-instance court rejected VDL’s case, but the leather industry organisation appealed. In July, the Higher Regional Court in Cologne heard the appeal and found in VDL’s favour.
The court said the term ‘leather’ may only be used when a product is made entirely or partially from animal hide. It also said that using the term ‘apple leather’ for products that contain no leather was deceptive and unlawful.
VDL managing director, Andreas Meyer, commented: “We are not opposed to new materials, but we do not want these materials to be referred to as leather. To do so would be to mislead consumers ”
End of an era at University of Northampton
The Institute for Creative Leather Technologies (ICLT), part of the University of Northampton, formally closed on July 31, marking the end of more than a century of formal leather education.
The institute’s origins can be traced back to 1893 in South London, where it was established under the Leathersellers’ Company. A dedicated leather college was built there in 1909. The leather training provision later moved to Northampton, becoming part of Nene College and eventually the University of Northampton.
In 2019, the ICLT relocated from the university’s former Park Campus to a purpose-built facility at Waterside Campus. Officially opened in September that year, the new building housed Europe’s only working university tannery, alongside testing laboratories, teaching rooms and commercial research space. It was intended as a global centre of excellence for leather education and innovation.
The university confirmed the closure of the ICLT in December 2023, citing a “severe decline in student numbers”, financial pressures, and falling international recruitment following Brexit and the covid-19 pandemic.
A small group of former students, staff and industry representatives gathered to mark the institute’s final day on July 31.
In a statement, the university told World Leather : “While the University of Northampton will no longer offer its leather technology courses, leather will remain a key component of the work of students on our fashion, textiles and footwear course. The university maintains a close partnership with The Leathersellers’ Company, which provides funding for students at all levels to be introduced to leather and its qualities, with guest speakers, workshops and trips to UKbased tanneries ”
PrimeAsia unveils sustainability strategy
Leather manufacturer PrimeAsia has launched a new long-term sustainability framework, ‘Consciously Crafted’.
The strategy, structured around four pillars of operational excellence, circularity, climate action and social impact, marks a significant step forward in the company’s efforts to integrate sustainability across its global operations, PrimeAsia said.
Chief executive Jonathan Clark said the strategy aims to “lead with purpose” and ensure that sustainability scales alongside business growth.
Leather scene
Dietrich Tegtmeyer to deliver Heidemann Lecture
The International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies (IULTCS) has announced that leather industry expert and consultant Dietrich Tegtmeyer will deliver the prestigious Heidemann Lecture at the upcoming XXXVIII IULTCS Congress.
Dr Tegtmeyer, who previously served as Global Head of Business Development and Industry Relations at leather chemicals group TFL, told World Leather he will use the lecture to reflect on the potential of collagen beyond leather. “I will talk about collagen in general and the use as well as applications beside leather,” he said. “The idea is to inspire R&D work to generate value out of by-products from the leather industry.”
The Heidemann Lecture is a keynote presented at each IULTCS Congress in memory of Professor Dr Eckhardt Heidemann (1925–1999), who made significant practical contributions to the science of leather manufacture and held a lifelong interest in the structure and properties of the collagen molecule.
Leathersellers Company appoints new master
Martin Dove has been appointed master of the Leathersellers’ Company for 2025–2026, marking 100 years since his great-grandfather, Frederick Lionel Dove, held the same role.
With nearly 40 years’ experience in the public sector, he now advises on major infrastructure projects across transport, defence, health, and social care.
His background includes roles at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the Commonwealth Development Corporation, and the UK’s national health service, with project work spanning the UK, Malawi and Thailand.
Tanner Leatherstein joins Stow as partner
L eathergoods brand Stow London has announced that industry expert Volkan Yilmaz, of Tanner Leatherstein, has joined the company as a shareholding partner and director of craftsmanship.
Known for his detailed deconstruction and analysis of leathergoods, Tanner Leatherstein has a global following of more than two million people on social media. In his new role, he will support product development and design at Stow, and help the brand expand its reach through his online presence.
Stow said the partnership will bring Leatherstein into close collaboration with managing director Adam Bryer and founder Carol Lovell
The brand manufactures its products in a family-owned factory in Ubrique, Spain.
Celebrations for Italian footwear industry
The Italian footwear sector is marking three milestones this year: the 40th anniversary of testing company CIMAC, the 80th anniversary of manufacturers association Assocalzaturifici and the 100th edition of trade show Micam.
During the celebrations for the association’s 80th anniversary, Assocalzaturifici president, Giovanna Ceolini, said: “In these 80 years, our companies have faced challenges with courage and determination. Our value lies in our people: it is thanks to them that Made in Italy continues to tell stories of beauty, tradition and innovation.”
The 100th edition of Micam will take place from September 7-9 in Milan.
Chief executive of FILK objects to Desserto criticism
The lead author of FILK’s study comparing the performance properties of leather with those of alternative materials has objected to comments that criticise the objectivity of the research.
Professor Michael Meyer, chief executive and scientific director of research and testing body FILK, has said comments on the 2021 study from manufacturer of cactusbased material Desserto are unfounded.
Furthermore, Professor Meyer said some of the comments that appeared on the LinkedIn profile of one of the co-founders of Desserto constituted a public attack on him personally. Professor Meyer said he had reacted “with astonishment” to comments on the study that he said amounted to “personal accusations”.
He said FILK would always be happy to interpret new data, but insisted that “scientific progress thrives on factual exchange, not defamation”.
Senior production appointment at LVMH
Luxury group LVMH has appointed Ludovic Pauchard as its industrial and craftsmanship director. He will also become executive chairman of LVMH Métiers d’Art, a specialist part of the luxury group that it founded in 2015 to help it secure access to high-end leather and other raw materials.
Mr Pauchard joined LVMH in 2003. His leather-focused roles during his time at the group have included spells as a production manager for leathergoods, manager of leather sourcing and group production director for leathergoods.
In 2019 he became the group’s senior vice-president for manufacturing, looking after a network of 33 partner leathergoods manufacturing facilities, employing a combined total of 10,000 workers.
He will take up his new roles on September 1, focusing on “operational excellence” while upholding the group’s commitment to ethics, environmental protection and social responsibility.
Senior figure to head up LVMH business in the Americas
Luxury group LVMH is reported to have appointed group veteran Michael Burke as the new head of its business in the Americas.
It has made no formal announcement about this yet, but the Wall Street Journal said it had seen an internal memo confirming not just that it was appointing Mr Burke to the role, but that he had already taken it up.
Michael Burke has held several senior positions at LVMH, most notably that of chief executive of its biggest leathergoods brand, Louis Vuitton.
At the start of 2024, he succeeded Sydney Toledano as head of the LVMH Fashion Group.
LVMH chief executive, Bernard Arnault, said on putting Mr Burke into this new role that the move came at a “strategic time in the Americas”.
Vice-president and merit award news from
IULTCS
The International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies (IULTCS) has elected Dr Giancarlo Lovato as its new vice-president. It said Dr Lovato, who was nominated by his national association, Italy’s AICC, would bring “an impressive scientific record to the role”.
As secretary of AICC, Giancarlo Lovato chaired the third IULTCS European Congress in Vicenza in 2022.
In parallel, IULTCS announced Dr Patricia Casey as the winner of its merit award for 2025. Dr Casey earned the award
for her work with her national association, Argentina’s AAQTIC, and as a past president of IULTCS.
In these roles, she has consistently shown leadership in promoting technology and education throughout Latin America.
Mixed reactions to Kering CEO announcement
Aprofile of the incoming Kering chief executive, Luca de Meo, has said reaction inside the luxury group is mixed. Mr de Meo will take up his new role in September; this move comes for him after 30 years in the automotive industry.
For a profile piece in the Wall Street Journal, automotive people described Mr de Meo as “intense and exacting”. As chief executive of Renault, Mr de Meo provided input on details such as the stitching in the interior and the sound car-doors make when they close. He insisted on test-driving vehicles himself.
Inside Kering, according to the WSJ, there is wariness about bringing in someone from outside the luxury industry. There is a feeling among some that the move smarts of how challenging Kering’s situation has become. Its full-year revenues for 2024 were €17.2 billion, down by 12% year on year.
But the chief executive of high-end winter clothing brand Moncler, Remo Ruffini, told the newspaper he viewed the change differently. In recent years, Mr Ruffini has engaged in detailed discussions with Kering and with rival group LVMH about bringing them on board as investors in Moncler
He said Luca de Meo’s status as an outsider could be positive for Kering. “People would say that his biggest challenge will be to understand the industry codes and culture,” Mr Ruffini told the WSJ. “I see it the other way round. The sector has the opportunity to benefit from an outsider who can bring new perspectives.”
Supervisory additions to Leather Naturally
Industry association Leather Naturally has appointed Thomas Yu and Arnaud Backbier to its supervisory council, with James Lang elected for a final term as chair.
The council acts as a governing body, supervising the board, which is responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation.
Chanel connections to tanneries
Italian leather industry veteran Andrea Bagnoli has taken up the leadership of two tanneries.
At the start of July, he became managing director of Conceria Samanta in San Miniato in Tuscany, and also of Conceria
Gaiera in Lombardy.
Andrea Bagnoli began running his own leather manufacturing company in Santa Croce sull’Arno in 1990. When it closed in 2011, he worked for a short time as a leather buyer for Salvatore Ferragamo and then for Geox.
In 2013, he went back into leather production, taking senior roles at Nuti Ivo Group, where he continued working until the end of June.
What links the two tanneries Mr Bagnoli will run now is that luxury group Chanel is a shareholder of both. It took a controlling stake in Conceria Samanta in 2019 and followed this up by investing in Conceria Gaiera in 2020.
In parallel, New York-based leathergoods brand The Row has won the admiration of Chanel, according to the Wall Street Journal It said an investment vehicle set up by the family behind Chanel, the Wertheimers, has now taken a stake in The Row.
According to the WSJ, one of the reasons why The Row has attracted attention is its success in emulating an Hermès strategy, using “manufactured scarcity” to boost demand for its bags.
The newspaper said there is evidence that The Row’s Margaux bag is in “high demand” because its resale price is currently more than 40% higher than it costs to buy new.
The Row launched in 2006 as part of a shift from acting to the fashion business that child television and film stars MaryKate and Ashley Olsen made. The Olsen twins still run The Row;
Mexico complains about adidas sandal scandal
Asandal that US designer Willy Chavarria developed in collaboration with adidas is the subject of a possible legal complaint from the Mexican government.
Mr Chavarria’s most recent collection for adidas, unveiled in Puerto Rico on August 3, includes a slip-on huarache shoe, based on a traditional leather sandal that artisan producers make by hand in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
However, the adidas version has involved no work with those Oaxacan artisans and, at first, gave them no credit. After a series of complaints, Mr Chavarria issued a statement, apologising to the communities of Oaxacan for appropriating their traditional design ideas. He said he was sorry not to have developed the project with traditional producers.
On August 8, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said she was aware of the sandal scandal and she said the government was considering submitting a formal legal complaint.
Leather scene
She commented: “Big companies often take products, ideas and designs from the indigenous communities of our country. In a certain way, they are usurping the creativity of our indigenous peoples. We are working on a new law that will give those communities additional guarantees.”
Lapi Group announces new board appointments
Collagen specialist Lapi Group has confirmed a generational change in its board of directors as part of a long-planned leadership transition.
Francesco Lapi, formerly CEO of the group’s chemical area companies, has been appointed president, taking over from his uncle, Roberto Lapi
Tommaso Lapi, who heads the group’s industrial area companies, becomes vice president. Caterina Talini, daughter of outgoing board member Alessandra Lapi, joins the board as a director for the first time. Roberto Lapi remains on the board, continuing to contribute through his experience and external relations work.
The company has described the appointments as a natural continuation of its growth strategy, combining strong regional roots with an international outlook. It has reaffirmed its focus on industrial development and ESG policies as central pillars for future investment.
Leather students recognised at DMU
Experimental work with sheepskin, vegetable-tanned leather and alternative embossing techniques featured in this year’s Skin Innovation Awards at De Montfort University (DMU), an event supported by the Worshipful Company of Curriers to promote emerging talent in leathercraft.
The 2025 winner was final-year student Michael Genao, who impressed judges with a sculptural sheepskin jacket inspired by Kukeri, a Bulgarian ritual involving fur costumes and dance. Drawing on his Bulgarian and New York upbringing, Mr Genao combined traditional motifs with contemporary design, also producing a second piece that featured embroidered runes to evoke graffiti-style expression.
Two students were named as distinguished runners up: Eden LissartJones , who used vegetable-tanned leather, wet moulding and laser cutting to explore the scale and unpredictability of avalanches, and Samantha GillettJones , who developed her own embossing method using acrylic moulds and a printing press. Her floral leatherwork was also recognised at the 2025 Leathersellers Awards.
Backtrack
World Leather’s publishing cycle and limitations on space make it impossible for us to run more than a carefully selected sample of news from across the industry. However, we publish hundreds more stories on leatherbiz.com. The site is updated every day with news from every continent and every part of the industry, making leatherbiz.com one of the most comprehensive archives of news anywhere on the web for the global leather industry. We list below just a few of the headlines that have appeared on the site in recent weeks and can still be accessed.
14 August 2025
Thai industry targets exotic markets
13 August 2025
Quarterly loss recorded at Tandy Horween teams with Florsheim shoes
Next edition of Loewe Craft Prize launches
12 August 2025
Half-year figures show tariff effect on US hide exports
Weak demand weighs on Bata India
China and US agree further 90-day trade truce
11 August 2025
Tariffs drive 63% profit slump at Tata Motors
08 August 2025
Australian red meat exports rise in US
07 August 2025
US doubles tariffs on imports from India
June export figures highlight US beef’s China problems
DMU to host international leather conservation event
ZDHC transitions to ‘simpler experience’ for suppliers
06 August 2025
July figures confirm the rise in electric car production in Germany
August deadline for trade deals or April tariffs ‘boomerang back’
Stark impact of tariffs on US beef exports to China
School and military sectors key for Rwandan shoemakers
04 July 2025
No move away from ‘full luxury’, Burberry insists
Advertorial: JLIA
Japan launches world-class sustainable certification for leather industry
The Japan Leather and Leather Goods Industries Association (JLIA) has officially launched its Sustainable Certification , setting a new global benchmark for sustainability in the leather industry. Developed in response to increasing international expectations around environmental performance, social responsibility, product quality, and transparency, this new certification system provides leather companies with a robust and credible pathway to sustainability.
A new global standard
Backed by a framework that references ESG ratings, the EU Taxonomy, the EU Ecolabel, and more than 15 Japanese and international laws and standards, the JLIA Sustainable Certification offers a comprehensive evaluation system. It recognises companies across the leather supply chain, from rawhide traders and tanners to finished product manufacturers and retailers, that are actively contributing to the creation of a sustainable society, economy, and environment.
At its core, the certification promotes compliance with international standards, legal regulations, and key aspects of responsible business conduct, including:
• Respect for human rights and labour conditions
• Environmental protection, including emissions, chemical use, and biodiversity
• Occupational health and safety
• Corporate governance, ethics, and fair trade
• Product safety and quality assurance
Why get certified?
For businesses in Japan and beyond, obtaining the JLIA Sustainable Certification brings clear, strategic advantages:
Enhanced international credibility
The certification acts as formal recognition of your commitment to SDG-aligned principles, ESG performance, and CSR standards, elements increasingly required by clients, suppliers, and regulators worldwide.
New business opportunities
By meeting high-level sustainability criteria, certified companies are better positioned to participate in global supply chains and respond to procurement requirements from brand partners and governments.
Improved environmental and social performance
The process of certification supports internal system improvements, raises employee awareness, and drives better management of workplace safety, environmental impacts, and governance.
Brand value and market differentiation
Certification demonstrates genuine action on sustainability, not just promises. It strengthens brand image and builds trust with consumers who are looking for transparency and responsibility in the products they choose.
Supporting the SDGs
Built on the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) , the JLIA Sustainable Certification provides a clear and objective way for companies to demonstrate how their business activities align with global sustainability targets. From ethical labour practices to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the certification validates a company’s initiatives through an independent, standards-based lens.
Open to the entire leather supply chain
Whether you’re a rawhide trader, tanner, manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer, the JLIA Sustainable Certification is open to your business. Participation is a proactive step towards building a resilient, sustainable, and globally respected leather industry.
Learn more
To find out how your business can apply for the JLIA Sustainable Certification and take part in Japan’s most ambitious sustainability initiative in leather, please contact the Japan Leather and Leather Goods Industries Association or visit https://sustainability.jlia.or.jp/
A symphony of NATURAL LEATHER SOLUTIONS
Since 1920, NTE Mimosa has used wattle mimosa to create a comprehensive range of sustainable, environmentally-friendly tanning products for the world’s finest leather.
Leather Leaders: Dr Christine Anscombe
Life lessons
Dr Christine Anscombe became the chair of the training commission (IUT) of the International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies (IULTCS) at the end of 2024. In this interview she outlines her hopes for the future of leather education across the globe.
How would you sum up the training and education you received in preparation for your career in the leather industry?
I had no family connection to the leather industry. At school, when I was 14, we went to a careers exhibition. I came back with a leaflet from Nene College, which was the predecessor of what became the Institute for Creative Leather Technologies (ICLT) at the University of Northampton. My school was in Northamptonshire but our careers teacher had never heard of the leather course at Nene College and tried to convince me to do something else. But the idea stayed with me and I applied.
I think I was lucky to be accepted because I didn’t do as well as expected in the exams at the end of high school. I received a lot of help from the course’s director, Peter Ellement. It wasn’t a degree course in those days. The qualification we received at the end was called a Higher National Diploma, a vocational higher education qualification. I did that from 1982 until 1984. I was the only woman in my year group and one of only two students from the UK in a group that had people of 30 different nationalities. I loved that. It showed that in the leather industry there were jobs everywhere in the world. Because I had no family connection to any tannery, I could go anywhere and this appealed to me very much
There was a disadvantage too. Everyone else had had plenty of work experience on the tannery floor and I had none. But the course was nine-to-five every day, with lots of practical and lab work, as well as the theoretical side. It did prepare you to come out and be immediately useful to someone; I was confident I would be able to do that.
What are the highlights of what you were able to do with that education on entering the world of work?
At the end of the course, I received four job offers: one in New Zealand, two in Italy and one in the UK, which was at Carr Tanning, in the Cotswolds. A whole level of managers were ready to retire and the company had no succession plan in place. It took me on and I was happy to go. Not long after, I did travel, all the way to Australia, where I worked for Packer Leather. I went back and forth between Australia and the UK for a while and had my two children. When I went back
Chair of the
CREDIT: SATRA
of
to full-time work it was at BLC Leather Technology Centre in Northampton. I stayed there for 11 years and ended up running training. It was there I met my friend and colleague Amanda Michel, who died in 2017. Together, Amanda and I set up our own leather training and consultancy business, Leather Wise. The projects we worked on included helping to design a national vocational qualification in leather. We also helped leathergoods brand Mulberry run its in-house apprenticeship programme. Later, Amanda and I wrote material for the master’s course that the ICLT offered. I maintained a link to the University of Northampton and became a member of its technical liaison group. The
training commission
the International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies, Dr Christine Anscombe.
university awarded me an honorary doctorate in 2016. In 2009, I left Leather Wise and moved to work full time at research and testing organisation, SATRA. I still work there today and am assistant director for marketing. The International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies (IULTCS) appointed me as chair of its training commission, the IUT, at the end of 2024.
What are the major changes that have taken place in recent years in leather education and access to it?
Reutlingen and Northampton have been big losses. The Lederinstitut Gerberschule Reutlingen in Germany closed in 2011. Teaching of leather courses at the University of Northampton’s ICLT ended in summer 2025. There are other educational options, of course. The thing is, though, that IULTCS doesn’t know exactly what is available now, globally, and who is providing what. We know that there are courses in Turkey, Spain and other countries and that some institutions are delivering courses in English to make them accessible for international students. We want to work out how best to support and promote these programmes and bring more young people to them. My ties to Northampton are important to me and I don’t like to be too critical. The ICLT was exceptional in what it delivered, but was it what the industry needed? In the UK, at least, we’ve become hung up on everybody needing to go to university and earn a degree. Universities’ funding relies on that. But it doesn’t suit everybody. I think we need to make a broader range of teaching materials available to people who want to learn about leather, with wide access to them. It all needs to be more flexible. The choices have not been diverse enough over the years.
Has the leather industry contributed to this lack of flexibility?
There have been big changes in the industry as well as in education, and that’s important. So much comes down to money. Companies’ purse strings are becoming tighter, and training and education are among the first things to be cut.
Teaching at the Institute for Creative Leather Technologies at the University of Northampton ended in summer 2025.
CREDIT: WTP
It’s so short-sighted. There has been an expectation among many companies that they should be able to pull candidates from educational institutions at the end of courses, to take advantage of the end product, but without contributing too much to the process that creates that end product. There are exceptions; there are companies that do invest. When the decision came to close Northampton’s ICLT, I was part of an informal group called Supporters of Leather Education and Science, or SOLES. We wanted to see what people in the industry thought about this and to see if there was any chance of saving ICLT. It developed at one point into a network of more than 100 people from 70
There are companies that invest heavily in training new generations of leather workers, as this image of an apprentice in the leather workshop at Rolls-Royce Motors shows.
CREDIT: ROLLS-ROYCE MOTORS.
organisations. What has come out of this, to my mind, is a clear message that the industry needs flexible, modular, practical training in leather technology. And the practical element may be the biggest challenge. A lot of practical leather education is being delivered by chemical companies now. They are filling a gap.
In your opinion, what have these changes in education provision meant for the industry?
The consequences have not hit yet. Unless we pass all this knowledge on, a time will come when we no longer have people who understand the process of making leather well enough. Unless we have people who do understand it well, we won’t have innovation. Basic tanning is well documented; you can learn to make a piece of leather, but we need more than that. In my opinion, the biggest threat will be that an increase in demand for biomaterials could mean that, in the future, a very good alternative to leather will come along and do the job even better than leather. We will still have meat and waste from meat. A biomaterials company may find a way of using that waste better than we can, using the collagen in a different way. If you lose education, you lose the people who will be able to challenge that.
IULTCS has specified cultivating new generations of leather scientists and professionals as one of its priorities. How will it go about achieving this? What support from the wider industry will IULTCS be able to call on for this?
Perhaps the teaching that is in place across the world could be more formalised, with a global curriculum. Perhaps IULTCS, as a global body, could develop a global package that could sit under the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). But we need to identify what is there now before we invent new things. My instinct is that we don’t need to keep reinventing the wheel. We still have people with deep knowledge of the industry. We also have good material available in a variety of formats. We can develop this into an industry package and that could lead to a professional qualification, perhaps even an IULTCS qualification. But we will need to have someone drive it properly and we will need industry buy-in.
It is difficult to avoid making a connection between a lack of leadership and of common purpose in the global leather sector and the impression many have today that the industry receives unfair treatment from legislators and many consumer product brands. What motivates you to keep working and travelling to share a positive message about the industry? What gives you hope for the future?
One huge positive is the people we have in the industry and the relationships leather people are able to form. In this industry, competitors can talk to one another and enjoy each other’s company. This is something I have not observed in other industries. Leather people are very passionate about the material. This is what will save the industry. You reach a point at which you have to collaborate and we have reached that point in leather now. People must recognise the need to share knowledge and realise that this will not affect their ability to compete. That is where the future lies and it is a future I am positive about. I am thankful that I am in this industry. It has given me a career that I have loved.
BPS in syntans: risks, regulations and alternatives
Bisphenol S (BPS) remains a central component of many synthetic retanning agents, despite rising regulatory scrutiny and mounting interest in chemical alternatives. At the FILK Leather Days in May, Dr Riccardo Pasquale, from the Italian leather chemicals group GSC, provided an overview of the challenges associated with removing BPS from these formulations and shared new research aimed at reducing the content of free monomers while maintaining performance.
Synthetic retanning agents, commonly referred to as syntans, play an important role in the production of modern leathers, particularly in giving hides the desired fullness, handle, and durability. Many of these agents are based on polymeric systems that include bisphenols (BPS) as structural building blocks. BPS is one of the most widely used.
However, concerns about the toxicological profile of BPS have led to closer examination. Since 2021, the substance has been on the EU REACH Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) due to its potential for human endocrine disruption. Dr Pasquale referenced the likelihood of further regulatory action, potentially including a ban, by the end of this year. While no final decision has yet been issued, he said: “There are strong signals that BPS could face restrictions in the near future. This is no longer hypothetical.”
Understanding the chemistry
A key focus of the presentation was the distinction between polymerised BPS and residual, unreacted BPS monomers. According to Dr Pasquale, it is the free monomer content in commercial formulations that poses the greatest concern from a regulatory and toxicological perspective.
BPS is favoured in polymer synthesis for its rigidity and dimensional stability, which contribute to the mechanical and aesthetic performance of the final leather. Its molecular structure, more constrained than that of bisphenol A (BPA) or bisphenol F (BPF), makes it particularly suitable for forming strong networks that bond well with collagen. This makes substitution difficult. Alternative phenolic systems are available, but often require higher dosage levels, which can increase chemical load and water treatment demand. Dr Pasquale pointed out that customers typically
Figure 2: A comparison between a standard dihydroxy diphenyl sulphone syntan (red) and its low BPS version (blue)
expect no change in product performance or cost, regardless of chemical substitution: “The market continues to demand the same leather, but with reduced environmental impact. It’s a technically demanding position.”
A technical response: lowering free BPS content
In response, Dr Pasquale and his team claim to have developed a process to manufacture the same polymeric agent while significantly reducing free BPS content. This involved a twostep revision of the synthesis process: first, adjusting polymerisation conditions to encourage more complete monomer reaction; and second, introducing an additional posttreatment to capture and neutralise any remaining unbound BPS.
The result is a retanning product with a substantially lower free BPS content – typically below 1,000 ppm, and in some instances, under 150 ppm. Analytical confirmation using FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), TGA (Thermogravimetric Analysis) and HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) demonstrated that the polymer structure remained consistent with the original, while ISO 21135 testing indicated a sharp reduction in extractable bisphenols.
Crucially, the revised formulation has already been produced at semi-industrial scale and used in live retanning applications. He reported no loss in performance in terms of leather fullness, handle, or finish, and in some cases, better polymer efficiency was observed. “We found that with lower free monomer content, more of the active polymer is available to interact with the hide,” he explained.
Other considerations: cost and clarity
While technically viable, the modified product is currently more expensive to manufacture due to the added process step. Dr Pasquale acknowledged this as a barrier to immediate large-scale adoption but noted that cost reductions are likely to follow as production volumes increase.
Meanwhile, the regulatory environment remains in flux. Although the last official update regarding BPS restrictions was in 2023, the industry is widely anticipating new decisions in the near future. This uncertainty is already influencing procurement strategies across the leather supply chain, particularly among automotive and luxury brands seeking to future-proof their material sourcing.
Outlook
The question facing the industry is no longer whether it is possible to reduce or remove BPS from retanning systems (his team’s work suggests it is) but whether the supply chain is prepared to adopt these changes before regulatory mandates are enforced.
In the absence of definitive legislative timelines, chemical suppliers, tanneries, and brands will need to weigh technical feasibility, cost implications and market pressure when considering a transition to low-BPS or BPS-free solutions. As the leather sector continues to balance performance demands with sustainability requirements, incremental innovations such as this may offer a pragmatic path forward.
Intelligence at every stage: How quality data transforms leather manufacturing
The most significant partnerships in the leather industry are driven by intelligence, not automation. Leading manufacturers like JBS Couros are forming strategic alliances with AI companies to deploy intelligent grading systems across their operations. With neural networks trained on over 10 million hides processing 30,000+ daily across nine countries, intelligent manufacturing partnerships have proven their worth at industrial scale.
Purpose-Built Intelligence for Production Environments
Today’s smart grading systems are tackling the real challenges tanneries face every day, consistently achieving 91% accuracy for wet-blue leather at production speeds of just 4 seconds per hide.
What makes this possible are neural networks that have learned from the industry’s most comprehensive collection of hide data, and can now instantly spot over 30 different types of defects with remarkable 99% reliability that keeps your operations running smoothly.
Standardized Quality Foundation
Intelligence extends throughout manufacturing, creating Verified Hide Data that follows each hide from wet blue
through to finished leather, enabling standardized consistency across production lines and data-driven decisions at every stage.
Implementing AI-powered assessment enables access to specialized markets by providing precise grade classifications. With hides accurately graded and properly placed on pallets, the Verified Hide Data creates a digital foundation establishing the framework for subsequent stages – think of it as building the intelligence backbone that supports and enhances your production process.
Data-Driven Inventory Optimization
When these accurately graded and tracked pallets progress to the pallet sorting and reselection stage, combined with precise composition tracking, it transforms how you manage inventory. Instead of guesswork, you get real-time visibility that optimizes allocation decisions as they happen.
The real game-changer is moving toward custom order fulfillment that enables precise container loading. When buyers know exactly what they’re getting, relationships transform. This tracking system doesn’t just show what you have – it ensures you’re using materials optimally while cutting sorting labor costs at the same time.
Mindhive Global’s AI-powered grading system in action at JBS Couros.
Quality verification and process optimization
As hides progress through to finished leather production, advanced quality intelligence continues tracking and verification, providing verified assurance that directly matches their specifications with comprehensive assessment that adapts seamlesslywhether you’re serving automotive, luxury, or furniture markets.
The result: process improvements emerge from analytics highlighting optimization opportunities. Detailed defect maps optimize nesting and cutting operations, creating valueadded services.
Comprehensive traceability links tanned hide characteristics to finished hide quality, supporting customer confidence while enabling premium pricing
Transforming quality data into business intelligence
The Mindhive Cloud platform links all quality data streams together, across stages, elevating quality data into strategic business intelligence. Multisite performance benchmarking compares grading consistency across locations, identifying best practices.
Operational intelligence provides real-time production monitoring with instant access to the quality metrics that matter most, while predictive analytics enable proactive decisionmaking by identifying trends before they impact efficiency.
Optimizing your supply chain intelligence means you can analyze performance while optimizing sourcing strategies. Visibility across executive dashboards provide high-level KPIs showing improvements and cost reduction opportunities.
Proven results: transformation in action
New Zealand’s Tasman Tanning demonstrates transformation through measurable results. “Our automated grading system matches each hide to its use with unmatched speed and precision,” states CEO Neville Dyer. “We’ve halved our reject percentage downstream and optimized our hide usage while increasing throughput.”
These results exemplify how hide data creates cascading improvements throughout operations, providing enhanced customer satisfaction.
Strategic Investment Framework
For progressive organizations, subscription-based digital solutions that transform traditional leather production workflows represent a strategic alignment with transformation objectives – preserving capital while ensuring access to evolving capabilities.
With predictable subscription costs enabling accurate planning and eliminating technology obsolescence risks, this transforms quality assessment from a depreciating expense into strategic infrastructure.
The question facing manufacturing leaders isn’t whether intelligence delivers value – partnerships like JBS Couros demonstrate industry validation. The strategic question is whether organizations can afford traditional approaches while industry leaders build intelligent manufacturing capabilities that transform competitive positioning.
At SIMAC 2025, Mindhive Global will show how industry leaders are implementing intelligence at every stage. Manufacturing executives will experience firsthand how stage-by-stage intelligence supports operational excellence and competitive differentiation.
Reserve your strategic consultation at SIMAC 2025 – limited executive meeting slots available for intelligence implementation discussions.
Automated finished leather selection with Mindhive FinishSelect™
Mindhive Global’s leather quality dashboard for empowered decision making.
Automated laser trimming: When AI is better at making the cut
At the 2025 FILK Leather Days event, Italian technology company Corium presented its automated laser trimming system for the wet phase of leather production. Officially named TRM, the system is designed to replace manual trimming with an AI-controlled, laser-based process intended to improve consistency, material yield, and operational efficiency.
In conventional wet blue leather processing, post-shaving trimming is typically performed by two or three operators per production line. The process relies on manual tools and operator skill to remove defects and irregular edges. This approach results in variability in trimming quality and can lead to excessive removal of usable leather or insufficient defect elimination. Corium reports that this method can result in the loss of 5–10% of the leather’s usable area. The manual process also requires significant labour and contributes to overall production costs. Irregular trimming can affect subsequent processing steps such as retanning or dying, where uneven edges may cause tangling or tearing. Additionally, the manual approach is time-consuming and may not meet growing market demands for greater consistency, higher throughput, reduced waste, and lower operating costs.
System overview and operation
The automated system integrates several technologies to enable full automation of the trimming process. The system includes a high-resolution machine vision module that captures detailed images of each hide, allowing artificial intelligence and neural networks to analyse the surface and detect defects. Based on this analysis, the system defines optimal trimming paths for CO2 laser cutters to follow.
The processing sequence begins when the hide is loaded onto the system, either automatically or manually from the shaving machine. The vision module then scans the entire leather surface to create a digital map. This image is processed in real time by the AI engine, which identifies folds, wrinkles, and other imperfections. Once the defect map is established, the software calculates the most effective cutting path, which the laser then executes.
The TRM system can be equipped with up to three CO 2 lasers. The trimming area is divided into three zones allowing simultaneous processing of multiple sections of the hide. The control software manages any overlap between these cutting zones to ensure continuity of the trim. This configuration is intended to maintain high throughput while ensuring trimming precision even when the hides display folds or surface irregularities.
In addition to the lasers and vision systems, the machine includes several components designed to maintain operational stability and reduce maintenance needs. Precision beamguiding mirrors are used to direct the lasers accurately, while integrated air blades, active cooling units, and a fume extraction system help manage the thermal and particulate byproducts of the laser trimming process. An automatic gas regeneration system is included to maintain the laser operating environment, minimising the maintenance needed.
Control features and adjustability
The trimming process can be modified according to specific production requirements by adjustable detection profiles (see panel 1). Operators can select between conservative, standard, or aggressive trimming modes. These profiles define the system’s sensitivity to detected defects, determining how much material is removed. A conservative setting may prioritise maximising usable surface area by removing only the most severe imperfections, while an aggressive setting may remove more material to eliminate all visible flaws. Adjustments are made via the system’s software, allowing operators to switch between profiles without the need for mechanical recalibration.
The control software also allows the machine to automatically adjust laser power and processing speed in response to variations in the leather surface. This feature is intended to maintain consistent trimming quality even when hides are presented with significant wrinkles, folds, or thickness variation. The manufacturers state that the ability to adapt in real time
differentiates this system from earliergeneration automated trimming machines.
Reported performance metrics
According to Corium, the TRM system delivers improvements across a range of performance indicators compared to manual trimming. The number of operators required per line is reduced from two or three to just one. Trimming rates, reported at 50 to 90 hides per hour in manual systems, are said to increase while remaining consistent.
Quality and reliability, which in manual processes can fluctuate depending on operator skill, are said to be consistent and stable with the automated system. Usable leather waste, estimated at 510% with manual trimming, is reportedly reduced to 2-4%. As a result, the overall cost per hide is expected to fall, primarily due to lower labour requirements and reduced material losses, in line with European Union directives that promote resource efficiency and sustainable industrial practices.
Panel 1: Adjustable Detection Profiles
At Conceria Incas, modified tannins produced soft, consistent leathers that met or beat performance standards, with no changes needed to existing processes.
ALL CREDITS: SILVATEAM
Natural tannins project shows progress
A European research initiative focused on sustainable leather tanning processes has concluded, with the results pointing towards promising environmental and technical improvements. Known as LIFE I’M TAN (LIFE20 ENV/IT/000759), the project began in September 2021 and received funding from the European Union under its LIFE Programme for environmental innovation.
Coordinated by Silvateam Group, the project brought together five Italian organisations active in the leather tanning value chain: Silvateam, Crossing, Centro Ricerca per la Chimica Fine (CRCF), Conceria Incas, and the Aquarno Consortium. Their collective aim was to develop a new generation of natural tannins, chemically modified to improve performance in leather tanning and retanning applications, while reducing the environmental impact traditionally associated with these processes.
The early stages of the project were outlined in World Leather October/November 2022, which detailed Silvateam’s ambition to give traditional vegetable tanning a “modern-day makeover”. The process of vegetable tanning, often considered the original method of tanning, has remained largely unchanged for centuries, relying on natural tannins extracted from wood and bark through aqueous methods. The project sought to retain the advantages of these biobased materials while improving leather technical performance and tanning process inefficiencies.
Project objectives and technical development
LIFE I’M TAN set out to address several challenges facing vegetable tanning. While traditional extracts are valued for their renewable origins, they often present limitations in
consistency, colour, and processing flexibility. The project refined the extraction and purification of tannins from natural sources such as chestnut and quebracho and introduced chemical modifications that enhanced their reactivity and increased the concentration of active substances.
An important innovation involved removing non-tanning compounds, such as sugars and salts, from the tannin extracts. These compounds do not contribute to the tanning effect but can cause instability in the tanning bath and hinder recyclability. Their removal led to greater control over the process and the potential for recycling the tanning liquor, supporting significant reductions in water consumption.
The resulting modified tannins allowed for lower application dosages and offered improved compatibility with early process stages, such as pickling. Their lighter colour also opened new aesthetic possibilities, including the production of pale and pastel leathers that are difficult to achieve with standard vegetable extracts. Preliminary trials even indicated potential for use in waterproof leather development.
Application testing was carried out at Conceria Incas, where the tannins were used in both laboratory and industrialscale production of leather for footwear and leathergoods. The leathers produced claimed to match or exceed current performance criteria, with promising results in softness,
consistency, and colour range. Importantly, the modified tannins were found to be compatible with existing equipment and tanning processes, avoiding the need for disruptive changes in production.
Environmental assessment and impact reduction
The environmental impact of the modified tannins was evaluated using benchmarking and life-cycle assessment (LCA) tools. Compared to conventional vegetable tanning processes, the new system demonstrated measurable improvements across several key indicators. Water use during the tanning stages was reduced by between 5–25%, depending on the article produced. COD levels in the tanning bath were cut by up to 40%, and reductions of more than 80% were recorded for potentially hazardous substances such as phenol, bisphenols and formaldehyde.
These reductions were made possible in part by the purification of the extracts and the shift away from syntans. As Silvateam explained in its original project concept, many synthetic tanning agents contain substances now under regulatory scrutiny, such as free formaldehyde and bisphenols. By upgrading vegetable tannins instead of replacing them, the project aimed to provide safer, more sustainable options without disrupting established leather types or production preferences.
CRCF and Aquarno carried out detailed analyses of process wastewater. Testing on biodegradability is ongoing and will continue beyond the project’s formal conclusion, to assess whether the observed pollutant reductions lead to improved environmental behaviour in final effluents.
Silvateam and Conceria Incas have developed a business plan for the industrialisation of LIFE I’M TAN products and conducted surveys to assess the impact of this new technology in the tanning industry, as well as directly with the end consumer.
All collected data feeds into the project’s Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), social Life Cycle Assessment (sLCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) models, which together offer a comprehensive view of the technical, ecological, social and economic aspects, and viability of scaling up the modified natural tannins.
Circular economy and by-product valorisation
In addition to improving the tanning process itself, LIFE I'M TAN focused on the circularity of the overall production system. Residues from the purification processes are being explored for secondary use in other sectors, such as feed ingredients for animal nutrition or components in bio-based resins. Meanwhile, leather scraps and trimmings from production have been hydrolysed to yield materials for fertilisers suitable for organic farming. This closed-loop approach is designed to minimise waste and create additional value from by-products.
The project partners have also emphasised the carbon profile of the modified tannins. Unlike fossil-derived syntans, natural tannins are made from “young carbon”, captured recently from the atmosphere by plants. This biogenic origin strengthens their potential role in future climate-friendly material systems.
Industrial prospects and outlook
Although the modified tannins remain at the pilot production stage, the project partners say they show clear potential as alternatives or in synergy to both synthetic and traditional vegetable tanning agents. Their improved technical performance, lower
environmental impact, and compatibility with existing production infrastructure make them strong candidates for wider commercial uptake.
Economically, the more efficient dosage and water use may help offset production costs, particularly when combined with broader system savings such as bath recyclability and reduced effluent treatment needs.
Looking ahead, the partners expect to see the gradual adoption of the new tannins across the Italian tanning sector and beyond. Importantly, they stress that LIFE I’M TAN is not positioned as an “anti-chrome” or “anti-syntan” initiative, but rather as a practical pathway to give tanners more sustainable options without requiring radical changes to their processes. As noted in our 2022 interview, the project also supports and enhances existing green initiatives such as Silvateam’s Ecotan platform.
As LIFE I’M TAN concludes, Silvateam and the other partners are preparing to disseminate the findings and explore routes to market for the modified tannins and by-product applications. They believe the work carried out under the LIFE Programme offers a strong model for how traditional industries can innovate in ways that integrate environmental, technical, and economic goals.
CRCF and Aquarno analysed wastewater, with biodegradability tests continuing to see if pollutant cuts improve final effluents.
Suede sneaker – part of Puma’s circular design drive. Made with zeology-tanned leather, hemp fibres and TPE outsoles, these shoes proved compostable in trials and are now commercially available.
CREDIT: PUMA
Biodegradable by design
Despite its long history, leather is still widely misunderstood, especially in today’s search for sustainable, durable, and biodegradable materials. Its modern forms and innovations go far beyond the familiar image of traditional shoe leather, offering footwear brands valuable opportunities to strengthen their corporate image.
To the average person, leather simply comes from the hide or skin of an animal. But there is a broader story: leather is a by-product of the meat and dairy industries. As long as humans continue to consume meat, hides and skins will remain a secondary outcome. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a by-product is “an incidental or secondary product made in the manufacture or synthesis of something else”. Farmers do not raise livestock for hides, they raise them for food. Leather’s value lies not in its raw state, but in the durable, versatile products that can be crafted from it.
Historically, footwear has been one of leather’s most important uses, from full-coverage moccasins to today’s precision-made styles. For centuries, vegetable tanning was the dominant method. Then, in the late 19th century, chrome tanning emerged, revolutionising leather’s appearance, performance, and the way it was made. It took decades to
become commercially viable, but it now accounts for around 85% of all leather globally.
Still, the definition of leather can be limiting. ISO 15115:2019 defines it as a hide or skin with its original fibrous structure more or less intact, tanned to prevent decay, and which may or may not have its hair or wool removed. It has long been considered “stabilised forever”, a positive trait for durability. But if that were truly the case, we would see far more ancient leather waste. In fact, most leather products break down over time, suggesting that biodegradability has always been part of the story – historically by circumstance, not design.
That is changing. Today, biodegradability is no longer incidental. It is a central goal, shaped by growing expectations around environmental responsibility. The leather industry is now rethinking how materials behave across their full lifecycle, including how they return to the earth after use.
New approaches
From a technical standpoint, tanning processes remained largely unchanged for decades. The main alternative to chrome – glutaraldehyde – used to make chrome free “wet white” gained prominence more than 40 years ago, but even this is now under scrutiny from regulations such as REACH due to its potential sensitising and toxicological properties. While glutaraldehyde’s future is under review, the past five years have seen a marked acceleration in tanning innovation. One of the most significant developments is a shift in perspective: tanning is no longer viewed as a permanent fixative, but rather as a temporary stabilisation phase. Leather can deliver the required performance – flexibility, breathability, durability – throughout its useful life, then biodegrade under specific post-use conditions.
These new approaches are gaining traction, driven by chemical companies, tanneries, and forward-thinking brands. Biodegradability by design is no longer just a research ambition and it is starting to shape real-world production. While it may take time for these innovations to scale, the precedent is there: chrome tanning also began as a niche development before reshaping the entire industry. We are now at the start of a similar shift, one that redefines what leather can be, and what it can do for a more sustainable future.
Redefining leather’s environmental profile
As sustainability becomes a defining challenge for the leather industry, new tanning and retanning technologies are emerging to reduce environmental impact, increase biodegradability, and improve material traceability. From the use of natural minerals and agricultural by-products to fermentation-based innovations, chemical suppliers and forward-thinking brands are working to align leather manufacturing with circular economy goals.
A notable development in recent years is Zeology, a metalfree tanning system developed by Royal Smit & Zoon. It uses zeolite, a naturally occurring mineral, as a replacement for traditional chrome and aldehyde tanning agents. The system is designed to retain key performance characteristics of leather, such as tensile strength and heat resistance, while addressing regulatory and environmental concerns.
Zeology-tanned leather is fully compatible with standard retanning and finishing processes and meets metal-free standards under frameworks such as REACH and ZDHC. According to life cycle assessment (LCA) data, the system offers measurable environmental benefits, including lower
ecotoxicity and improved wastewater quality. It can also simplify waste management by reducing the generation of hazardous waste.
The manufacturers claim that zeology leather is significantly more biodegradable than chrome-tanned alternatives, supporting leather’s integration into circular product strategies. Sportswear brand Puma has incorporated it into its Re:Suede sneaker, part of its effort to create circular footwear solutions. In 2021, Puma produced 500 trial pairs made with zeology-tanned leather, hemp fibres and TPE outsoles. After six months of wear, the sneakers were composted under controlled conditions and achieved grade A compost certification. Following the trial’s success, Puma proceeded with a full commercial launch.
DyTan is another recent example of alternative tanning chemistry designed to meet environmental and performance targets. Developed by German leather chemicals group Trumpler in collaboration with Archroma and UK-based Dr Leather Ltd, DyTan uses sulfonyl ethyl-based chemistry, originally from the textile sector, to crosslink collagen fibres in a pH-controlled process, avoiding metal salts, aldehydes, and bisphenols. The system also allows for simultaneous tanning and dyeing using coloured agents, improving process efficiency, and reducing reliance on additional dyestuffs. Leathers tanned with it are said to show strong hydrothermal stability and high abrasion resistance, and the clarity of the material makes it suitable for both pastel shades and deep, uniform colours. The process uses globally available, REACH-registered chemicals and operates at low temperatures, without a pickling step. Leather tanned with it
contains a high bio-based content and has demonstrated biodegradability and compostability in laboratory and industrial tests. The leather and its shavings disintegrate fully under composting conditions, and enzymatic hydrolysis enables potential reuse in further applications.
Food industry wastes
In parallel, renewed interest in vegetable tanning has led to experimentation with new sources of tannins, particularly agricultural waste. Traditionally, vegetable tanning has relied on extracts from tree bark and leaves from the timber trade, but some companies are now turning to the olive sector for alternative raw materials.
Olivenleder, originally based in Reutlingen, Germany, and now part of the Italian leather chemicals group Silvateam, has pioneered a method that uses discarded olive leaves, typically a waste stream from olive harvesting. The leaves are rich in polyphenols, especially oleuropein, that serve as effective tanning agents. The process avoids both heavy metals and aldehydes, resulting in a fully biodegradable leather that carries certifications from Cradle to Cradle and OEKO-TEX. It also retains a distinctive pale hue – often referred to as “wet green” – a nod to the gentle, nonaggressive chemistry involved. So mild, in fact, that the company regularly hosts tasting sessions where visitors are invited to sample the liquid tannin extract. [Editor’s note: it’s a bit like Marmite - you either like it or you don’t - but it shares that same astringent kick on the tongue!]
Footwear brands such as Tricker’s, Moral Code, and Grenson have adopted this leather, while Patagonia selected it for its American bison work boots, seeing eco-friendly tanning as an essential component of durable, responsibly made products.
Meanwhile, Italian chemicals company GSC has developed a tanning system based on olive mill wastewater (OMW), a challenging by-product of olive oil production. Globally, millions of cubic metres of OMW are produced annually, often containing high concentrations of organic compounds and polyphenols that make disposal and treatment problematic. GSC’s approach extracts tannins
Clicking out – Olivenleder tanned bison leather being prepared for Patagonia
“Wild Idea Work Boots”
CREDIT: PATAGONIA
from this material and combines them with synthetic agents to create effective tanning and retanning solutions.
The raw material includes compounds such as hydroxytyrosol, catechol, and gallic acid, which contribute to leather stabilisation. The patented formulation works with both vegetable- and mineral-tanned leathers, enabling a higher bio-based content, particularly in retanning. Independent testing under EN ISO 20136:2020 found leather produced using GSC’s system achieved an 87.14% biodegradability rate, close to that of pure bovine collagen and considerably higher than glutaraldehyde-tanned leather.
A different pathway to greener leather comes from German leather chemicals manufacturer Schill & Seilacher, which has launched Succuir, a new retanning agent based on biosuccinic acid. Made by fermenting waste sugars from agriculture and the food industry, it aims to replace fossilderived and bisphenol-based synthetics with a lower-impact alternative that still delivers performance in softness, durability, and finish quality.
Designed to integrate into existing processes, Succuir is said to be suitable for footwear, leathergoods and upholstery. Its manufacturers assert it eliminates heavy metals and organic solvents and reduces water and energy consumption during production. In biodegradability testing (ISO 20136), leather retanned with it reached 99.3% degradation in just 27 days. The system also supports circularity: production waste such as shavings and offcuts can be recovered and potentially reprocessed.
With regulatory scrutiny on chemical inputs tightening, especially in the European Union, systems such as these are gaining attention as traceable, bio-based options for tanneries looking to future-proof their processes and meet environmental targets without compromising material quality.
Taken together, these developments signal a shift in how the industry views tanning: not only to preserve hides, but as a platform for material innovation, and for footwear manufacturers to enhance their products. Whether using minerals, plant waste or microbial fermentation, new tanning chemistry is redefining what leather can be, and how it fits into a circular, sustainable future.
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Melamine: how to develop a robust measurement in products and leathers
Jochen Ammenn, Production Support, Stahl
Melamine has been listed as a substance of very high concern (SVHC) in the EU since early 2023, due to its high stability, poor degradability, and persistence in the environment. In the leather industry, it is used as a component in resin retanning agents, where it is condensed with urea and formaldehyde. However, there is currently no standard method for determining residual melamine content in these products or in finished leather. Given its low solubility, developing a reliable analytical method poses a technical challenge. A joint project involving PFI, FILK, two commercial partner analytical laboratories, Stahl, and the Cooperation for Assuring Defined Standards for Shoe and Leather Goods Production e.V. (CADS) is addressing this issue. Preliminary results were presented at the 13th FILK Leather Days conference in Freiberg in May.
Within the leather-making process, the retanning step plays a key role in determining the main properties of the final leather article, such as fullness, softness, grain tightness, fastness properties, and tear strength. The major classes of retanning agents are phenol-formaldehyde condensates, melamine-urea-formaldehyde condensates, polymers, and vegetable tanning agents. Depending on the chemistry, residual monomeric phenol, formaldehyde, or bisphenol S and bisphenol F can be a concern with phenolformaldehyde condensates1, also known as syntans. Polymers such as polyacrylates generally do not present a residual monomer issue and offer good fastness properties but provide limited options for modifying haptic properties such as softness and, especially, fullness. Vegetable tanning agents have a positive effect on haptic properties but lack fastness properties. This is why syntans became increasingly popular and replaced large quantities of vegetable tanning agents. Melamine-urea-formaldehyde condensates in leather contribute to properties such as fullness, softness, grain tightness, and fastness. The slow release of formaldehyde has been a recognised problem and has been under investigation for several years. Residual monomeric melamine is a newer concern, following melamine’s addition to the SVHC list.
Melamine condensates for retanning
Urea-formaldehyde condensates were discovered in 18842 Since the 1930s, urea-formaldehyde condensates have been used as impregnating resins in the production of chipboard. This helped make the wood industry far more sustainable, as the large amounts of waste produced when sawing trees could be converted into chipboard, products of value made from waste. Later, melamine-formaldehyde condensates and melamine-urea-formaldehyde condensates were developed, offering additional properties to chipboard, such as fire resistance. Melamine-formaldehyde condensates were first applied to leather in 1943 as tanning agents in the form of formaldehyde releasers3. For their use as retanning agents in
leather, water solubility had to be improved. This was an issue for both melamine-urea-formaldehyde and ureaformaldehyde condensates. It was resolved by adding sulfites during the formaldehyde condensation process, resulting in water-soluble poly-condensates. These resulting polycondensates are considered unproblematic, non-toxic, and are commonly used in leather making. The issue is the presence of unreacted melamine, which can be found at levels up to several thousand parts per million (ppm). Projects are under way to reduce this further, but an official method would help convince customers of the quality and safety of these products.
Melamine is a synthetic chemical used in various industrial applications and is made from urea. While it plays a useful role in manufacturing, it also has serious downsides: it has long been known to be harmful to organs, especially the kidneys 4. Similar to bisphenol S (BPS), it must carry the hazard warning H361f in the EU due to its endocrinedisrupting properties. It is also known that melamine degrades only very slowly in nature. This slow degradability, also known as persistence, was recently introduced as a new criterion for chemicals to be listed as substances of very high concern in the EU. Melamine has been on that list since 2023. However, there is still no official method to determine the concentration of unreacted melamine in chemicals or leather articles, and its solubility in many solvents is poor.
Synthesis and analytics of melamine condensates
Melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF) condensates are generally synthesised under moderately basic or acidic conditions in water 5, as shown in Figure 1. The chain length, indicated by the number “n”, depends mainly on the amount of formaldehyde, but also on other reaction conditions such as time and temperature. The bonds derived from formaldehyde are marked in red.
In a basic pH range, the newly formed methylene bridges between two amino groups derived from formaldehyde are stable. The retanning process is commonly carried out in
floats at an acidic pH, typically ranging from pH 3 to pH 6. In an aqueous environment within this pH range, MUF condensates are less stable. The rate of hydrolysis increases with lower pH, higher acid concentration, or elevated temperature6. This hydrolysis is shown in Figure 2. This issue is inherent to this class of chemistry when both water and acid are present. However, in the final leather article, the conditions required for hydrolysis are not met due to the low concentration of water.
The release of formaldehyde can be quantified using either emission or extraction assays. In the emission test, according to UNI EN 27587, a flow of nitrogen is passed through a test tube containing the pure product in either powder or liquid form. The emitted formaldehyde is carried by the nitrogen flow into a cartridge, where it is derivatised. The derivatised formaldehyde can then be washed from the cartridge and quantified via High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). This method is pH neutral. If the MUF condensate is adjusted to a basic pH, low levels of formaldehyde will be measured using this method. In the extraction assay UNI EN 17226,
leather samples can be analysed for formaldehyde. The leather is cut into pieces and extracted with warm water for a defined period. The aqueous solution is then derivatised under acidic conditions and submitted to HPLC for quantification. Due to the acidic pH of the solution, MUF condensates are prone to partial hydrolysis. The acidity originates from strong acids such as phosphoric acid, which is commonly used to establish the reaction conditions for derivatisation with 2,4dinitrophenylhydrazine7. Consequently, higher levels of formaldehyde will be obtained with this method when testing MUF condensates. If formaldehyde can be released through hydrolysis during this assay, melamine may also be released. This presents a major hurdle for melamine analysis in water. The solubility of melamine in many solvents is poor. In the commonly used solvent acetonitrile, it is not soluble at all. To obtain meaningful results, it proved to be very important to find a suitable solvent and solubilisation conditions, especially for extracting melamine from leather. Data using different solvents and solubilisation conditions are summarised in Table 1 for the leather chemical. In this case, the leather chemical was treated with methanol,
which caused a suspension, or with water, in which the product dissolved completely at different temperatures. As shown in Table 1, the melamine concentrations after solubilisation of a standard MUF condensate for retanning in methanol and water ranged between 2.050–2.559 ppm. The measurement run at the PFI Institute in Pirmasens, Germany, at 70°C in methanol was carried out in a similar manner to the determination of bisphenols in leather chemicals, according to ISO 21135:2024. Differences between the measurements in water and methanol were small, provided the pH of the water was kept within the neutral range. However, when an acidic pH 4 was adjusted in an aqueous solution combined with an elevated temperature of 60°C, the melamine concentration doubled to 4.110 ppm, likely due to hydrolysis of the MUF condensate and the subsequent release of melamine. To develop a method for extracting melamine from leather, a retanning of wet blue was carried out using six percent of a standard MUF formaldehyde condensate. This condensate had a residual monomeric content of 2.500 ppm. It was assumed that applying six percent on wet blue with a water content of fifty percent would result in a crust containing a maximum of twelve percent polycondensate. This led to the further assumption that 12% of 2.500 ppm = 300 ppm melamine could be present in the dried crust, assuming full uptake of the poly-condensate. The extraction was carried out in water at different temperatures and at two pH values, at both the PFI and FILK institutes, since water is a commonly used solvent for the extraction of leathers.
Figure 1: Condensation of melamine, urea, formaldehyde, and sulfite
Figure 2: Hydrolysis of melamine, urea, formaldehyde condensate, releasing melamine and formaldehyde
Table 1: Results from attempts to measure melamine in a melamine urea formaldehyde condensate in methanol and water
Melamine: how to develop a robust measurement in products and leathers
Table 2: Results from attempts to extract melamine from a leather retanned with a melamine urea formaldehyde condensate
Extraction of 21°C (@PFI) 40°C (@PFI)
(@FILK) Melamine [ppm] [ppm] [ppm] [ppm] with H2O
As shown in Table 2, the melamine concentrations after extraction ranged from 93–16 8 ppm. Surprisingly, the values at 21°C were higher than those at 40°C or 60°C, although it is known that melamine solubility increases with temperature. In these measurements, the pH values were carefully adjusted to either an acidic pH of four or a neutral pH of seven. Again surprisingly, this had no effect on the amount of melamine extracted. The retrieval rate of melamine reached 16 8 ppm/300 ppm = 56% at pH 4 at 21°C. The fact that samples of the same leather were extracted in water at pH 4 and 60°C at the PFI Institute, and at 70°C at the FILK Institute, with almost identical values, gave confidence in the reliability of the method. In contrast to the results with leather chemicals, the pH of the extraction process did not lead to a significant increase in melamine concentrations. Therefore, water remains a good option as an extraction solvent.
Optimisation approach to lower melamine in melamine-ureaformaldehyde condensates
To address the issue of residual monomeric melamine in MUF condensates, a lab sample of the chemistry was produced under optimised reaction conditions. Parameters such as time, temperature, pH, and concentrations were adjusted. The best lab sample was a liquid MUF condensate with a concentration of
44%, which was tested against a commercially available liquid product with a concentration of 35%.
As shown in Table 3 , 6 3 ppm melamine were found in the lab sample (measured in methanol at the PFI Institute) and 72 ppm in water at 60°C. This was approximately twenty times lower than in the commercially available resin retanning agent, which had a residual melamine content of 1.438 ppm in methanol. Leathers were produced using both samples, and no differences in fullness, softness, grain tightness, dyeability, or fastness were observed. The next step in this optimisation project is to scale up production to an industrial level.
Legal status of melamine in leather
For leather manufacturers in the EU, it is required to inform their customers if the melamine concentration extracted from leather is above 1.0 ppm. The current problem is that there is no official measurement method. For leather chemical manufacturers in the EU, concentrations of melamine above 1.0 ppm must be stated in the safety data sheet, in addition, EU manufactured leather chemicals containing more than 3.0 ppm melamine must be labelled with a hazardous sign.
Conclusion
The development of methods was requested by the German CADS organisation for “assuring defined
Table 3: Results from attempts to optimised rest monomeric melamine in a melamine urea formaldehyde condensate
standards for shoe and leather goods production” and the leather branch of the Association of the German Chemical Industry (VCI). It is an ongoing joint effort of the PFI Institute, FILK, two commercial partner analytical institutes, and Stahl. Together, these partners are working to establish methods for melamine measurement in leather chemicals and in leather to support the safe use of these chemicals.
Acknowledgements
The author thanks Debora Spengler and Cenk Basoglu, Stahl, for their assistance; Oliver Haubrich, PFI Institute, and Haiko Schulz, FILK Institute for their collaboration.
References
1. Ammenn, Jochen; Bisphenol Reduction in Syntans and Examples for Extraction and Migration of Bisphenols from leather Articles, JALCA, Vol. 119, p.231, 2024.
2. Tollens, Bernhard; Ueber einige Derivate des Formaldehydes, Chem. Ber., 17, p.653, 1884.
3. Dawson, William; Tanning Agents, US 2316741, 3 p., 1943.
4. Kai-ching Hau, Anthony; Kwan, Tze Hoi; Kam-tao Li, Philip: Melamine toxicity and the kidney, Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 20 (2), p.245, 2009.
5. Lach, Dietrich; Streicher, Rolf; Bolz, Gerhard; Verfahren zur Herstellung von wasserlöslichen oder selbstdisperg-ierenden Harzgerbstoffen für die Nachgerbung von Leder und ihre Verwendung, EP 0 063 319, 10p., 1982.
6. Liu, Ming; Wang, Yan; Wu, Yiang; Wan, Hui; Hydrolysis and recycling of urea formaldehyde resin residues, J. of Hazardous Materials, 355, p.96, 2018
7. Brady, Ocsar; Elsmie, Gladys; The use of 2:4-dinitrophenylhydrazine as a reagent for aldehydes and ketones, Analyst., 51(599), p.77, 1926.
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Leather and the circular economy
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Still no solution to plastic pollution
More than three years after the United Nations formally adopted UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) resolution 5/14, efforts to put in place a legally binding instrument for putting the resolution into effect have failed time and again. The resolution is a commitment to bring to an end what the UN openly calls the “global plastic pollution crisis”.
This matters to the global leather industry. Most of the synthetic materials that brands consider as alternatives to leather contain large quantities of plastic. If these brands tell consumers the truth, that in most cases their only aim is to save costs, they should face a backlash for trying to make financial gain from making the plastic crisis worse. If they go down the path of claiming their choice is for environmental reasons, UNEA 5/14 and the lengthy discussions it has engendered should hole their arguments below the water line.
Demand for tools
Following the much-celebrated agreement on UNEA 5/14 in March 2022, the UN wasted no time in setting up an intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) to draw up a formal treaty for addressing the plastic problem, including in the marine environment. It convened in November that year in Uruguay, met again in Paris in May and June 2023, then in Kenya in November 2023, in Canada in April 2024, and then for the fifth time in Busan, South Korea, in November and
An intergovernmental committee has failed, once again, to agree a treaty on ending plastic pollution. A consumer backlash seems inevitable. In response, leather has a chance to become the material of choice for more of the world’s citizens.
December 2024. The committee’s work has been to try to put the tools in place to make the resolution a reality. This can only happen if all the travel and all the talking deliver a binding instrument for fixing the situation.
The fifth session in Busan lasted a week. Member states were confident a treaty would emerge at the end of that event. They were, unable, to come to an agreement and the UN suspended the session. It said negotiations would continue in 2025. After Busan, the European Union accused some UN member states, including Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran of obstructing a deal. It called on those countries “to show more ambition”.
Use of leather aids the battle against marine pollution, also part of the SDGs
The leather industry opens up pathways into the circular economy for companies of all sizes, including many thousands of small and medium enterprises
Leather content fulfils finished product manufacturers’ desire to use recycled material
Finished products made from leather will meet criteria for green tax relief and for green procurement exercises
Leather manufacturing supports green employment commitments
Plastic on the beach of Ngeruangel Reef, north of Palau. The small island developing states in Micronesia are tired of investing time, people and money in helping the UN find a genuine solution to plastic pollution, only to return home each time with practically nothing to show their people.
Credit: Shutterstock/Hiromi Ito Ame
Ambition is a key word in this INC’s circles. A group of more than 100 countries have formed a self-styled High Ambition Coalition. It is they who expect and demand the treaty that emerges to be far-reaching in meeting the promises of UNEA 5/14. This will mean hard-hitting measures covering the full lifecycle of plastics, unsustainable consumption and production of plastics, and the presence of chemicals of concern in the composition of plastic products. “These are outcomes that science clearly tells us are necessary,” the delegation from Norway stated recently. Other key areas of debate include funding, technology transfer and the scope of how far the treaty will go and to which government or authority it will assign responsibility for remedial action, including in international waters.
In comments she made after Busan, EU Commissioner for the environment, Jessika Roswall, quoted forecasts that suggest that, if plastic production, plastic use and disposal continue as they are at the moment, the volume of plastic leaking into the environment will triple by 2060. She says half of all plastic waste is still going to landfill and that less than 20% of it is being recycled. “A decisive response to the global pollution crisis is needed,” she said.
Drowning in plastic pollution
The UN’s own Environment Programme (UNEP), that is responsible for convening and supporting the INC, has been no less graphic in its assessment of the situation. Its director general, Inger Andersen, says: “Plastic pollution is already in nature, in our oceans and even in our bodies. And plastic leakage to the environment is predicted to grow by 50% by 2040. If we continue on the current trajectory the world will be drowning in plastic pollution with massive consequences for planetary, economic and human health.” For added detail, Kenya’s delegation says there are 7 billion tonnes of plastic waste circulating in the environment and 430 million new plastic products being manufactured each year, while many countries still have no “proper take-back schemes”. Weighing into the debate on social media, France’s president,
Emmanuel Macron, pointed out that every minute, 15 tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans.
According to Inger Andersen, the disappointment of Busan prompted “a surge in diplomacy”, which made her optimistic about reaching an agreement at a follow-up event in August 2025. The negotiating committee met formally at the UN’s Palais de Paix building in Geneva and resumed talks for a further ten days. The UN called the Geneva meeting the decisive second part of the fifth session, or INC 5.2. Busan was to be conclusive; rather than say it hadn’t been, the committee seemed to prefer to present Geneva as a continuation. Delegates from 185 countries duly travelled once more.
They were left in no doubt about the urgency of completing the task in hand this time. On the opening day, Ms Andersen, told them: “I remind you that the world wants and needs us to tackle the plastic pollution crisis. People are outraged, they are worried, and rightly so. It is now high time for member states to get the deal over the line.”
Multilateralism struggles to survive
However, to watch and listen to the proceedings at INC 5.2 was to understand why multilateralism is rumoured, in some quarters, to be in danger. There were four plenary sessions, one of which, at 20 minutes to midnight on what was supposed to be the final day, August 14, lasted only 40 seconds. The closing plenary resumed at 5.30 the following morning. Delegates had been working in smaller groups throughout the ten days and nights, but were unable to agree definitive text for more than a few of the 32 articles that were in a draft treaty they had brought from Busan.
By the evening of August 13, signs of fatigue and frustration were much more in evidence than any hint of a breakthrough. The INC chair, Ecuadorean diplomat Luis Vayas Valdivieso, took it upon himself to present a new draft of the report an hour before that day’s plenary session. He explained that his intention was not to impose anything on delegates, but to offer them versions of the articles that he
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The EU Commissioner for the environment, Jessika Roswall, had high expectations of the INC session in Geneva this August.
Credit: European Union 2025/Thomas Ruhland
and his team had compiled after listening to and consulting with delegates for more than a week. “It is for you to mould and improve,” he said.
Weak ambition
Delegates spent the rest of INC 5.2 trying to carry out this moulding and improving of Mr Vayas’s first draft, leading, in the wee, small hours of August 15, to an amended second draft from the chair’s pen. Any assumption or hope that a treaty could be crafted from either version of his versions of the text proved unfounded.
To loud applause, the delegation from Colombia said the first draft was “totally unacceptable”, insisting that there was no scope for turning it into a formal UN treaty. Colleagues from Chile said that even a quick reading of that first draft showed “enormous gaps” and a lack of tools that member states would be able to use genuinely to combat plastic pollution. The head of the delegation from Panama, Juan Carlos Monterrey, picked up the theme, but laid aside diplomatic language. He said: “What we have on the table now does not work for the majority of the people in this room. The red lines of the majority here have been stamped on, spat on and burned. This is simply repulsive. This is not ambition, it is surrender.” Perhaps inspired by the forthrightness of this, Emmanuel Macron took to social media once again to describe this first draft as presenting “weak ambition” and being “simply unacceptable”.
Scope for improvement
On the other side of the debate, delegations from Kuwait, Bahrain, India, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Qatar, Malaysia, Iraq, Iran, Algeria and others also complained about the first Vayas draft, saying red lines of theirs had been crossed, too, although they certainly seemed more comfortable with the chair’s revisions than their High Ambition Coalition counterparts. “We see some improvements and progress in the new text,” Iran said. “But setting out the scope of the treaty more clearly is of great importance.”
Kuwait said it and like-minded countries had been calling for this clarification on the scope of the treaty for a long time. Qatar backed this up, saying: “It would be difficult for us to pursue obligations if we do not know what we would be signing up to.” On the same theme, Indonesia said: “A well defined scope is not only a practical necessity but also a moral imperative to deliver an equitable and effective treaty capable of ending plastic pollution and safeguarding our planet for future generations.”
Midnight’s diplomats
On reconvening the final plenary session in the early hours of August 15, Luis Vayas Valdivieso said he and his team had tried to take all of these points of view into consideration in working on the second draft. “Differences remain, but we have made good progress,” he said. “This is my best attempt at capturing the spectrum of views and moving us closer to the tools we need [to fulfil the UNEA 5/14 mandate]. But there will be no further action at this stage.”
If further INC gatherings are to take place, delegates from countries that produce large volumes of petroleum and plastic made it clear that they did not want Mr Vayas’s texts to be the basis of further negotiations. “There were rejections of the first draft because of a lack of balance,” Saudi Arabia said. “That lack of balance continues in the second draft.” India insisted that the record should show clearly that there was no consensus on either draft. Qatar agreed. Kuwait expressed dismay at the extent to which the two versions of the text Mr Vayas had produced had veered away from its (Kuwait’s) interpretation of the mandate. Its head of delegation commented: “The further the text departs from the mandate, the more appealing it seems to some. This is a deeply concerning trend.”
Some, including Uganda, argued that the work of the smaller groups on the different articles of the Busan draft treaty could be of help in the future, but the INC process appeared to have moved forward very little as delegates made their way to Geneva airport.
UNEP director general, Inger Andersen, says the work will not stop.
Credit: UNEP
Chair of the intergovernmental negotiating committee on plastic pollution, Luis Vayas Valdivieso.
Credit: UNEP
Insufficient progress
Jessika Roswall was in the room and addressed the plenary on behalf of all 27 EU member states. She said she thought there had been some progress, although not enough. She also said she thought Luis Vayas’s second draft still fell short of the EU’s demands on a number of points, but that it, and the other outcomes from Geneva, could serve as a good basis for INC 5.3, if there is one.
She made it clear that her hopes about securing a treaty in Geneva had been sincere. “We cannot hide that we had higher expectations,” she said. “We came to conclude a global plastics treaty here in Geneva. We have confidence in the science that impels us, confidence in the people that push us and confidence that a majority of countries are aligned on this.”
The EU Commissioner for the environment said she was also sure a majority of people in business and civil society want a globally binding treaty for the sake of a clean, competitive, circular economy and public health and wellbeing. “That is what we fought for,” she concluded. “We have not managed to get there.”
At the end, the delegation from Palau spoke on behalf of the 39 small island developing states to express disappointment. “We continue to invest precious resources and personnel in the INC process, yet repeatedly return home with insufficient progress to show our people,” the head of delegation said. She added that the longed-for treaty should deliver action genuinely to end plastic pollution “in the interest of protecting our precious marine environments, our livelihoods, and the health of our people and of our future generations”.
After the plenary, a fatigued and frustrated Inger Andersen addressed the media. She said: “We did not get to where we wanted, but UNEP will continue to engage in the multilateral process and also to engage at the ground level with member states. This work will not stop, because plastic pollution will not stop.”
Better choices
Presenting leather as a good alternative for brands and consumers to choose if they want to contribute less to the plastic pollution crisis is far from new. Germany’s national leather federation, VDL, said in a newsletter in 2022 that concerns about microplastics should convince consumers to choose leather instead.
Microplastics are shed from clothing and shoes made from synthetic materials, it explained. Tiny particles are ingested by marine life and are now so ubiquitous that they have been found in the bloodstream of healthy humans.
The most common sources of microplastic pollution are polypropylene (PP) in packaging materials and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) used in the manufacture of bottles. Other synthetics in common use are polyurethane (PU) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), frequently used in the manufacture of footwear and clothing. All are derived from fossil fuels and are often disguised as vegan materials or eco-materials so as to invite consumers to think they are “sustainable”. It is also common, as we know, for materials manufacturers and brands to misuse the term ‘leather’ when presenting products made from these plastics.
Leather products are free of microplastics, VDL pointed out, so when consumers buy items made from leather, they are helping to preserve the environment from plastic.
In some applications, there will always be demand for plastic. Managing partner at tanning technology developer Wet-green, Thomas Lamparter, says, for example, that he will always want his dentist to wear plastic gloves. But exasperated by the news from Geneva, Mr Lampater has raised his voice to renew the request that brands take seriously the public’s antipathy towards plastic.
“It doesn’t have to be leather,” he says. “But when you choose a material, ask the right questions. Can it be repaired? Is it biodegradable? Is it truly circular? If we cannot answer ‘yes’ to those questions, how will we explain to our children that we could have done better but chose not to?”
Strong feelings. Observer groups organised protests outside the United Nations building in Geneva.
Credit: UNEP
QUAKER COLOR A STEP AHEAD IN AUTOMOTIVE FINISHING
Supplying innovative finishes to the automotive industry for over six decades
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Added value
In spite of war, trade tensions, macroeconomic pressures and climate change, the volume of cattle hides that farmers and meat and dairy companies around the world produce continues at a steady level. The most recent figures from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) show that, for each of the early years of this decade, global production of raw cattle hides was around 300 million. In 2020, the figure was 297 million. In 2021, it was 299.8 million, rising to 304 million in 2022 and 309.8 million in 2023, the most recent year for which a number is available from FAO.
Its figures are, of necessity, estimates, but they are among the most educated estimates available. The most obvious omission is, perhaps, that the FAO figures include no estimate for India, a country with a cattle population of close to 200 million head and a busy leather industry.
We can keep this caveat in mind and still stick to 300 million as a good, round figure for cattle hide availability. The point is not to give an exact number for this, but to illustrate something else. At the end of 2024, we published the analysis of these figures that the Leather and Hide Council of America (LHCA) had carried out. Its conclusion was that 40% of the available cattle hide resource is going to waste at the moment.
An article we published five years ago put at 2000% the figure for the added value that tanners and leathergoods manufacturers can give to hides. As this follow-up article shows, if you put the material in the right hands, the figure can now go much higher.
Environmental benefits
LHCA embarked on its analysis because it wanted to illustrate the huge environmental penalty that the world pays by failing to turn millions of hides into leather. Does tanning have an environmental impact too? Yes, of course. LHCA’s point is that the environmental cost is much greater if you let the hides go to waste. Again, for the sake of illustration, we can put some figures on this. What LHCA said at the time was that a 25-kilo cattle hide going to waste would generate emissions of 300 kilos of CO2-equivalent.
A Hermès Kelly bag on the streets of Paris. Credit: Shutterstock/Photo Lime
Figures for 2023 that Italian tanning industry body UNIC published suggested that its member companies can achieve emissions of 2.03 kilos of CO2-equivalent per square-metre of finished leather. If we calculate 4.5 square-metres of finished leather from one of the 25-kilo hides LHCA talked about, it would give an emissions figure of just over 9 kilos of CO2-equivalent per hide. This indicates that it is more than 30 times worse for the environment to let a hide go to waste than to hand it over to Italian tanners. Sometimes, observers point out that UNIC’s figures can be skewed by the predominance of leather manufacturers in Italy starting from wet blue, missing out wet-end processing and the emissions associated with it. Scottish Leather Group carries out its own wet-end processing and calculates its emissions at 1.4 kilos of CO2-equivalent per hide. This means its work to make leather from hides has an environmental impact that is more than 200 times lower than letting the material go to waste.
Economic gains
This feels a little like going over old ground, but these figures remain jaw-dropping. This new article, however, has a different purpose: to show not the environmental benefit that we miss if we mismanage the circular resource that cattle hides constitute, but the potential economic benefit. Hides can generate huge economic gains. Not to use them to make leather is to miss out on making money.
In 2020, we published an article that calculated at 2000% the value that tanners and finished product manufacturers are able to add to hides. This follow-up article shows that, five years on, this percentage is now much higher.
In July 2020, LHCA had said 5.5 million US hides had failed to make it into the leather value chain the year before. It blamed the low economic value of the raw material, saying that it was no longer economically viable for traders to collect hides from smaller abattoirs, preserve them and ship them to tanneries.
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Tanneries in France spent a total of €232.7 million on bovine raw material in 2024. The value of the country’s leathergoods exports for the year was €13 billion.
Source: Alliance France Cuir, ‘La monographie des activités 2024’.
The price of hides has not recovered, nor, for the most part, has the price of leather. However, the prices of many finished products are now substantially higher than they were at the start of the decade. This suggests the added value that the leather industry can bring must also be higher now.
High fliers
It is in France, home to the biggest luxury groups, that many of the world’s highest-value leather products are made. In this issue of World Leather, we have a separate article about the $10 million bag; an original prototype of the Hermès Birkin bag, presented by the company to Jane Birkin and owned and loved by her for years.
Abattoirs in France slaughtered 3 million head of cattle in 2024 and just under 1 million calves. The material is of high quality and the supply chain is efficient; we can safely assume the vast majority of the hides and calfskins that accrued as waste at the abattoirs will have found buyers. If may seem strange to focus on France if these particular hides and skins seem to face no danger of going to waste, but we used to say that about the US, too. It is also true that most leathergoods brands around the world cannot add the same value to the raw material as their French counterparts. And, of course, the $10 million Birkin bag is a real outlier. However, if 40% of global cattle hide resources are going to waste, it is worth pointing out the full extent of the potential economic benefit that those resources could bring. For this, France and the detailed statistics that industry body Alliance France Cuir is kind enough to make public serve our purpose well.
In the raw
To start at the beginning, Alliance France Cuir has told World Leather that the price of cattle hides in France has fallen by 47% in the last ten years. Now, large, male hides sell for between €50 and €60 each. Female hides (from beef cattle breeds) fetch prices of between €30 and €40. Dairy
Leather that LVMH put on display at a workshop in Paris this July to celebrate the group’s craftsmanship. Credit: LVMH
cattle now make up a larger proportion of the national herd in France than in previous years; hides from those animals currently cost between €15 and €22. Calfskins are becoming scarcer, as an article in World Leather December 2024January 2025 makes clear. It is a special material for which prices have not followed the same dynamic. The upshot is that the spend for the domestic leather manufacturing sector on these local raw hides and skins was €84.5 million in 2024.
Alliance France Cuir has said 74 companies were involved in collecting and trading raw hides in 2024. They do so primarily to make money, of course. Collectively they generated revenues of €269.4 million. They brought in more than 75% of these revenues, €203.7 million, from exports of French raw material, demand for which is high (among Italian tanners in particular). Our focus here will be on the €84.5 million worth of raw material that stayed in France.
Leather manufacturers in France also imported raw hides and skins from elsewhere. This material had a value of €148.2 million. If we add the domestic and import figures together, we can see that tanneries in France spent a total of €232.7 million on bovine raw material in 2024. This figure is, therefore, our starting point in working out added value.
Return on investment
From this material, according to Alliance France Cuir, these manufacturers made 2,295 tonnes of finished leather and sold it for a total of €424 million. At this stage in the value chain, hides that cost €232.7 million had generated added value of 82%. Not bad at all, but downstream supply chain partners, all the way to the expensive shops on Paris’s Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and Avenue des Champs-Élysées, were able to keep adding economic value to the material every step of the way.
France had 387 companies making leathergoods on home soil at the end of 2024. The number of manufacturing companies is down slightly on the previous year’s figure of 392. However, the total number of people involved in
leathergoods production in 2024 was up, increasing by 4% to reach 32,011. Their hard work generated a collective turnover of €5.9 billion for the finished product manufacturers. Again, insisting that our aim here is to offer an illustration of the added value rather than pin-point accuracy, we can say that the outlay of €232.7 million on raw material had, by this stage, achieved an impressive added value of 2435%.
Conservative estimate
Of course, distributors, wholesalers and retailers add their margins on top of this, as we can see from the figure Alliance France Cuir has given for the value of leathergoods exports from France in 2024. Citing the country’s customs authorities, it said these exports generated €13 billion.
There are two things to point out here. A proportion of the leathergoods that French companies export are made outside France, most notably in Italy and Spain. If these items come back to France for export from there, which some do, they contribute to the €13 billion figure. However, because many of the factories that make those products use French hides and calfskins, we can still include them as part of our added value calculation. A figure of €13 billion takes the value-add percentage to 5486% (five thousand, four hundred and eightysix per cent).
This may seem a very precise number for what is, as we keep saying, an illustrative exercise. This is a fair criticism. It is worth bearing in mind, however, that the €13 billion is only for exports from France. It does not reflect the fact that a large proportion of the output from France’s leathergoods factories do not go for export, but are sold to consumers in France and to tourists visiting the country. This is a difficult number to work out, but we know is not a small one. This means 5486% is a conservative estimate. The true figure must be even higher.
What French tanners spent on hides and skins in 2024 turned into leather and finished leather products of great value.
Credit: Première Vision
Luxury group Kering has released the first details of a new water strategy. It wants to move beyond just reducing the consumption of water that production of its collections entails. Its aim is to “restore, regenerate and transform” water cycles in ten hotspots around the world.
Water-positive
Luxury group Kering has announced a new water strategy. It says launching this dedicated policy on water, its WaterPositive Strategy, is “a pivotal stage” in a wider sciencebacked approach to sustainability. The new strategy consists of three key programmes through which it will aim to deliver “onthe-ground transformation and water-positive outcomes”. Because water is “fundamental to the global economy” and to human survival, Kering says it wants to go beyond reducing the volume of water it and its suppliers consume. It wants to set up projects that will help restore water cycles and ecosystems. It wants to achieve “water-positive impacts”, actions that will improve the quality, quantity and accessibility of water in ten priority, ‘hotspot’ regions. So far it has only said exactly where the first of these ten hotspots will be but it has specified the ten countries. They are Peru, Argentina, South Africa, France, Spain, Italy, Mongolia, Australia, Turkey and India.
Watershed events
The first of the three programmes is one that will aim to concentrate the group’s sourcing strategies on materials that can “alleviate pressures on nature and water”. Production of the leather Kering uses in bags for Bottega Veneta, Gucci and other brands is at the heart of this, although its focus will also be on recycled fabrics and “innovative alternatives”.
This will include increasing the volume of materials deriving from regenerative agriculture, which, the group explains, will help reduce pollution and replenish watersheds. Watersheds are areas of land on which rain or snow collect and run from there into a lake, river or sea. In many parts of the world, climate change, with long periods of drought and unpredictable rainfall, has degraded soil in watersheds and harmed communities’ ability to grow food crops and, therefore, to live. All too frequently, floods are also a threat to life.
A watershed near Edwardsville, Illinois. Credit: Roberto Valz/Shutterstock
Non-profit group the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) says governments have learned the hard way that projects to repair watersheds are of great importance. In 2017, in Peru, one of the ten Kering hotspots, floods and landslides killed 138 people and made 700,000 people homeless. The government accepted the need to restore watersheds in the areas affected. Many coastal regions suffered, with the Moche watershed near Trujillo, the country’s third-largest city, among the worst hit.
The government spent $1.5 billion on “strengthening the resilience of affected watersheds”, SIWI says. This investment focused on infrastructure, repairing defences, improving flood control and putting early-alert systems in place. Other investment has followed in what SIWI refers to as “nature-based solutions to reduce water and climate risks”. This has included the reforestation of 45,000 hectares of land.
Last year, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations secured funding for watershed projects in seven countries in the Americas. They will work together to address the water security of 12 large watersheds. The aim is for this to improve the management of 1.8 million hectares of protected areas and restore 300 hectares of wetlands, which will directly benefit 350,000 people.
Home truths
Water concerns of a different kind came to Kering’s home city, Paris, when it hosted the 2024 Olympic Games. One of the many stories that attracted global attention was the effort the authorities had gone to to make the River Seine suitable for some of the swimming events. Financial media outlet Bloomberg said that the clean-up programme had cost €1.4 billion over nine years in the lead-up to the Olympics. Water-quality tests led to last-minute cancellations of important training sessions in the river for competitions including the triathlon and marathon swimming. In the end, athletes did swim in the Seine, although there were high-profile instances of illness among the participants afterwards. River swimming had been banned in the French capital since 1923.
A legacy of the Olympics and of the years of preparatory work and investment, plus some post-Games remedial work, is that Parisians have been able to swim in the river at three designated points since July 5, until August 31, this year. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has called the Seine clean-up programme a success story and has urged other cities and national governments around the world to follow in Paris’s wake. This is a message UNEP has been communicating for years. The summer before the Paris Olympics, it supported endurance athlete Lewis Pugh in his swim of the Hudson River. He swam the 517kilometre length of the river, from the Adirondacks to New York Harbour (wearing a UNEP swimming cap) to raise awareness of rivers’ vulnerability.
Supplier involvement
The Seine saga may have helped inspire Kering’s WaterPositive Strategy, but the first watershed on which it aims to make a water-positive impact is that of the River Arno in Tuscany. This ties in with the second of the three programmes that make up the strategy; Kering is committed to working with strategic suppliers to tackle shared challenges. This part of Italy is home to one of the most important leathermanufacturing communities in the world.
Credit: A.Ricardo/Shutterstock
Italy’s national tanning industry association, UNIC, says the towns of Santa Croce, Castelfranco di Sotto, Montopoli, San Miniato, Bientina, Santa Maria a Monte and Fucecchio are home, collectively, to the largest number of tanneries in Italy. They specialise in making high-quality leather from calfskins and small- and medium-sized bovine hides, serving high-end leathergoods brands in Italy, France and elsewhere, including Kering’s. Together, the Tuscan tanneries account for nearly 30% of the entire turnover of the Italian leather industry. Like the major cities of Florence and Pisa, some of these towns are on the banks of the Arno; none is more than a few kilometres from the river.
Suppliers there will play their part in turning the Kering strategy into reality. They will do this by favouring the use of chrome-free and “low-impact tanning agents” in their production set-ups, the group has said. Its conviction is that these leather chemicals will help increase water efficiency inside the tanneries and improve water availability and water quality in the communities in the Arno watershed. This spreads across an area of more than 8,000 square-kilometres.
Increased efficiencies inside the Tuscan tanneries will deliver, by 2030, a reduction of 20% in the water withdrawal
The women’s marathon swimming event at Paris 2024. The 10kilometre swim took place in River Seine.
“This will contribute to building up the availability of clean water for all,”
MARIE-CLAIRE DAVEU, KERING
in the Arno basin of facilities the group owns there. It will roll out similar innovation programmes in other parts of the world and, by 2035, will achieve a reduction of 35% in the water withdrawal of all group tanneries.
Lab work
The third strand of the Water-Positive Strategy will be a programme of new, dedicated water-resilience labs. The group has said it will set one of these up in each of the ten priority areas by 2035, in partnership with regional stakeholders, suppliers, other companies, local communities, and public authorities. Tuscany, again, will be the first of the ten to open its lab, this autumn.
According to Kering, the water-resilience labs will encourage innovation and work to join up the “isolated efforts” of different stakeholders to “create momentum for a waterpositive paradigm shift”. They will seek to set common goals and common metrics to show progress. Water challenges are global, the strategy says, but solutions to those challenges must be local and collaborative. The labs will serve as a cornerstone of the commitment to water resilience, promoting collective action and creating lasting positive impact.
The group’s chief sustainability officer, Marie-Claire Daveu, says: “It is crucial that water commitments evolve from a ‘reduction-only’ approach to become water-positive, regenerating and replenishing water and ecosystems associated with all business activities.” She adds that Kering’s new strategy will be transformative, and will deliver “measurable water-positive outcomes to enhance social, environmental and economic resilience, and contribute to building up the availability of clean water for all”.
A map of the watershed of the River Arno.
Credit: Matthew Heberger/ Wikipedia Commons
Water commitments have to evolve from a ‘reductions-only’ approach, says Kering’s chief sustainability officer, Marie-Claire Daveu, says.
Credit: Alliance France Cuir
LEATHER
AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY: CIRCULAR STORIES
After falls in the volume and value of leather that Italian tanners produced in 2024, the president of national industry body UNIC, Fabrizio Nuti, has offered his colleagues reasons for sticking with their long-term vision.
Brands must buy better
The president of UNIC, Italy’s national tanning industry association, Fabrizio Nuti, has told member companies that patience and long-sightedness are the characteristics that will help them overcome current challenges. Fortunately, these are qualities tanners have in abundance, he insists.
Fabrizio Nuti has been president of UNIC since the end of 2020. Based in Santa Croce sull’Arno in Tuscany, he runs the business founded by his father, Ivo Nuti, in 1955. It now comprises the Nuti Ivo, Lloyd, Everest, Papete and Deluxe tanneries in Italy and also has partnerships in Paraguay, Morocco and Hong Kong. In 2023, luxury group LVMH became the majority shareholder of the Nuti Ivo Group.
His comments come at a time when UNIC has reported revenues of €4.1 billion for Italy’s leather manufacturers in 2024. This is a fall of 4.5% compared to the previous year. The value of exports was €2.8 billion, down by 3.6% year on year. In terms of volume, they produced 95.4 million squaremetres of finished leather, and 6.7 million tonnes of soling leather, figures that mean falls of 4.1% and 6.3% respectively compared to 2023.
The number of businesses in the Italian leather sector is down, too, falling by 5.7% year on year to reach 1,074, and the total number of people these businesses employ has also fallen, coming down by 3.6% to reach 17,230.
Ahead of the times
“I don’t need to explain to you the importance of taking a long-term view,” Fabrizio Nuti told his colleagues at the UNIC 2025 general assembly in Milan in July. “Tanners in Italy have always been able to stay ahead of the times, anticipating changes in the market and investing when and where we needed to. We haven’t found a magic formula because there is no magic formula. We have instead taken a long-term view and not allowed it to be altered by emotion or by difficult situations.”
When it comes to difficult situations, though, he accepts that the current picture is particularly challenging and is putting the patience and staying power of Italy’s leatherindustry entrepreneurs severely to the test. “Uncertainty reigns supreme,” he says, “and we are having to cope with a severe economic crisis that has been going on for far too long now.”
Sources of encouragement
It is only natural, in times of crisis to look to the past, he says, pointing out that this can be an important source of encouragement. He is proud of a project in which UNIC had intensive involvement: the restoration of an ancient tannery at the archaeological site of Pompeii, in southern Italy’s Campania region. Excavation of the site unearthed 15 cylindrical tanks that tanners used for the turning hides and skins into leather. These tanks had been buried under four metres of pumice and ash since the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Brands must buy
The restoration project reached a successful conclusion in 2023 and the successors of those first-century leather makers have just published a book about it, with ‘The Tannery of Pompeii’ as the title. “We wanted to reiterate that this industry is a part of history, part of the tradition of Italy,” the president insists. “This helps explain how we became, and remain, undisputed world leaders in making leather.”
Mr Nuti says the book is already making its way all around the world; UNIC has sent copies to customers, to people in the industry, to Italian embassies and cultural institutions in different countries. The book has also gone on show at Expo 2025 in Osaka. He pays tribute to a predecessor as president of UNIC, Gianni Russo, saying it was Mr Russo’s vision that brought about the organisation’s involvement in the project. The current UNIC president continues: “Gianni Russo had the foresight to understand how important it was for us, as part of our efforts to promote the industry, to honour what he called ‘these most ancient roots of our profession’ ”
Demand for leather has no influence on the numbers of animals farmers raise. To argue otherwise is to present what Fabrizio Nuti calls “an absurd and unfair position”.
Credit: Lineapelle
On receiving his copy, fashion designer Brunello Cuccinelli sent a note of thanks to UNIC, saying he viewed the book as “a testimony to the value of beauty, of memory and of dialogue between business and culture”.
Regulation frustration
But dialogue becomes difficult in times of trouble. In all, Fabrizio Nuti puts the number of conflicts currently under way in different parts of the world at 60. He points to political and economic changes that are affecting the two biggest economies in the world, China and the US, with serious repercussions for all of their trading partners around the world. Last in his list of major challenges is what he calls Europe’s “regulatory bulimia”. He calculates that around 1,000 European Union regulations have brought concerns to the industry in the last five years, with more on the way.
Of these, the one he speaks of with greatest disdain is Regulation 2023/1115, better known as the European Union
Brands must buy better
“This industry is a part of history, part of the tradition of Italy,”
FABRIZIO NUTI.
Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The UNIC president says he has been working on EUDR since November 2021 and that, for four years, the regulation has absorbed “almost all my energy”. He told his colleagues in Milan that he had done this in the knowledge that, as the regulation stands, unless leather can be excluded from its scope at the eleventh hour or, at least, the bureaucratic burden EUDR imposes can be reduced, “it will have a devastating effect on our industry”.
Large companies will have to comply with EUDR from December 31 this year. Small and medium companies will face the same burden from the end of June, 2026. It will impose strict traceability obligations on companies in the European Union that use products from seven commodity groups. The EU says its aim is to make sure there is no link to deforestation from consumption in the EU of materials from the seven commodity groups. These include bovine leather and hides.
In response, Mr Nuti makes it clear that leather manufacturers support actions to combat deforestation, to protect the environment, and the health and safety of workers and communities. On EUDR specifically, he says he has written numerous letters, met with many members of the European Parliament from a wide variety of political parties, and sat down with European Commission officials, technical experts and lobby groups. UNIC has engaged specialist law firms to advise on EUDR. It has organised 18 seminars on this subject and sent more than 50 communications to member companies. Liaising closely with Italy’s wood industry, and “with a significant financial commitment”, UNIC has worked with an IT provider to prepare a platform to help member companies meet the requirements of EUDR.
It is planning to unveil and demonstrate the new platform at the Lineapelle exhibition in Milan in September. After this, there will be a pilot phase of use, with modifications still possible. UNIC insists the platform will be ready for use by the end of 2025.
Scope for hope
One recent meeting with a politician gave Fabrizio Nuti hope. He travelled to Rome in mid-June to present UNIC’s case on EUDR to Antonio Tajani, deputy prime minister of Italy. Mr Tajani is also a former president of the European Parliament and former European Commissioner for industry and entrepreneurship. “He understood the gravity of the situation,” the UNIC president says, “and took immediate action. That same day he wrote to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and to the European Commissioner for trade and economic security, Maroš Šefčovič to make sure the Italian position on EUDR was being heard. This was something we desperately needed.”
He says he still does not know if this meeting and Mr Tajani’s reaction will be enough to change the fate of EUDR. “We’ll see,” he concludes. “But at least we now know that the Italian government has taken a clear and unambiguous position on it.”
UNIC president since 2020, Fabrizio Nuti.
Credit: UNIC
Best option for brands
For customers that are working hard to lower their environmental impact while continuing to be successful, the UNIC president says the best option they have is not to invest in less material (because, otherwise, how will they grow their businesses?), nor to invest in synthetic alternatives to leather. “We have seen some brands moving towards fossil-based synthetic materials,” Mr Nuti says. “And if you rely on poor data, you can make this look like a better environmental option than using leather. Some of the international data sets that our customers work with present synthetics as being 10 or even 15 times better, in terms of environmental impact, than leather. This is because they allocate a large share of the whole-life impact of an animal to the hide, plus an economic allocation that is based on a value that is more than three times higher than current market rates.”
The fact remains that almost all of the animal’s environmental footprint should rest with the determining products, in this case milk and meat. Leather is a nondetermining by-product, Fabrizio Nuti insists, with an economic value of around 1.5% of the total value of the animal. Demand for hides and leather has no influence on the numbers of animals farmers raise. To argue otherwise is to present what he calls “an absurd and unfair position”. He adds: “We will continue to work to dismantle this position. This will help us convince customers that, instead of buying less leather or moving towards synthetic alternatives, what they ought to do is invest in better leather.
Record in the bag
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 becomes more attractive with age.
Hermès 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 now-famous Birkin bag.
An original prototype of the Hermès Birkin bag has become the most expensive handbag ever to sell at auction.
Design elements
Sotheby’s described the original bag as a handmade prototype that included a number of design elements that the Birkin bags that Hermès 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 à Courroies bag. Hermès was already well known for equestrian products and the idea behind the Haut à 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 Hermès, 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. Hermès 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 currently under development.
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 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 Hermès 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 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.
Special design elements in the original bag include the embossed initials of the original owner, actress and singer Jane Birkin.
Credit: Sotherby’s
The late Jane Birkin inspired the famous bag that bears her name by spilling her personal effects on board an aircraft in the 1980s. Then chief executive of Hermès, Jean-Louis Dumas, was in the neighbouring seat and promised to create a bag that would meet her needs. Credit: Denis Makarenko/Shutterstock
Luxury’s pivotal moment?
The luxury market appears to be in flux. In a sector that showed resilience even through the pandemic, and which tends to grow at above inflation rates, recent declines reported at the big brands shows that it is not immune to macroeconomics. LVMH Group, which owns brands including Christian Dior and Fendi, reported a 9% fall in first-half revenues in its fashion and leathergoods division to €19 billion. Similarly, Kering reported a 16% dip in first-half revenues to €7.6 billion. Its biggest brand, Gucci, contributed €3 billion to the total, but this figure represents a decline of 26% year on year. Leathergoods-focused Bottega Veneta provided most solace to Kering, with revenues declining ‘only’ 1% to €846 million.
Before these results, in April, consultancy Bain & Company, in partnership with the Italian luxury goods industry association Altagamma, published a report suggesting the global luxury sector was facing its “most far-
As luxury sales dip, brands should find a way to monetise resale channels without impacting brand value, according to a study. A new cross-party congressional group in the US hopes to boost the sector, too.
reaching disruptions” for at least 15 years and that the €1.5 trillion revenue industry faces its first slowdown since the global financial crisis of 2008-09 (excluding the temporary effect of the Covid-19 pandemic). Luxury confidence has been eroded by economic upheavals, geopolitical and trade
This summer, US-based reseller Rebag collaborated with Luxury Stores at Amazon to offer 30,000 pre-loved luxury items, including brands such as Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Rolex.
Credit: Rebag
tensions, currency fluctuations and financial market volatility. As well as these factors, Bain claims there is growing disillusionment among younger generations, notably Generation Z, who are seeking creativity, excitement and emotional re-engagement. Millennials, too, are being more cautious due to financial pressures.
Capitalising on resale
One of the ways luxury brands could offset declining revenues would be to take more control of resale channels, it has been suggested. A survey by Mastercard found that in 2024, about 27% of online spending on luxury clothing was at fashion resellers. However, most of these sales take place on third-party platforms. Luxury brands are keen to not damage their reputation in a sector so image-driven, so taking control of these platforms can be tricky – why would consumers then pay full price? – but it is a balance they should seek to strike, says Bain.
UK-based online retailer Karen Millen has launched a preloved luxury channel, where second-hand bags are selling for not much less than they would full price. A quilted leather Chanel bag that costs £5,664 new is selling for £4,634 – only an 18% discount. Similarly, a Hermes bag is on sale for £5,759 when it was only 11% more – £6,500 – new. These prices suggest handbags – particularly leather ones with their innate durability – can hold their value time and again, also meaning there could be repeated profits to be made from single items, with the bonus that a reseller does not have to pay for the original manufacture, logistics, retail and marketing.
In the US, a congressional caucus (members that meet to pursue common legislative objectives) has been launched to boost the second-hand market. Democrat Sydney KamlagerDove and Republican Nicole Malliotakis have jointly set up the Recommerce Caucus to champion small businesses and expand digital access. "Recommerce is more than a trend, it’s a growing economic engine that provides consumers with affordable, high-quality goods and gives entrepreneurs, small businesses and resellers access to trusted, thriving marketplaces,” says Kamlager-Dove. She aims to reduce sales tax on second-hand items and provide tax credits for companies adopting circular business models. Not surprisingly, the caucus has been endorsed by eBay, Etsy, Mercari, OfferUp, Pinterest and Poshmark.
The group will also advocate for policies that help individuals and small businesses earn income through resale, repair and refurbishment on digital platforms, and support initiatives that extend product lifecycles, cut down on landfill waste and encourage environmentally responsible commerce. Rachel Kibbe, CEO of American Circular Textiles, comments, “For too long, resale, repair and reuse have been sidelined in policy conversations, despite their critical role in reducing waste, creating jobs and giving everyday Americans the chance to participate in the circular economy. This caucus reflects a long-overdue recognition of the entrepreneurial power and environmental impact of recommerce.”
Decarbonisation bonus
Boosting resale channels could also help to ‘decarbonise’ the fashion industry, something artificial intelligence (AI) and similar tools could help to navigate. Luxury’s high gross margins mean that brands tend to overlook overproduction. However, unsold inventory not only
“For too long, resale, repair and reuse have been sidelined in policy conversations, despite their critical role.”
RACHEL KIBBE, AMERICAN CIRCULAR TEXTILES
erodes margins but also carry environmental costs that are increasingly under regulatory scrutiny, particularly in Europe. Therefore, cutting overproduction and scaling resale will be important to focus on, suggests Bain. Its latest report says AI-powered sales forecasting is already in use or being tested by 60% of fashion brands, enabling more accurate predictions of consumer demand across styles, sizes and geographies. In parallel, around half of brands are using AI to allocate stock more precisely. Technology is also enabling new production models, where brands are piloting made-to-order and made-to-measure approaches that reduce waste by producing only what is needed. “Second-hand is fundamental to reaching the Science-Based Targets Initiative’s near-term targets, and digital product passport (DPP) is a critical element to remove friction and cost to the overall channel,” says Matteo Capellini, a partner at Bain. “Done right, resale can shift from margin drain to margin growth, and become a credible and scalable decarbonisation tool.”
Despite short-term volatility for the luxury industry at present, its long-term prospects remain strong, Bain concludes. Over the next five years, more than 300 million new consumers – over half of these in Generation Z or Generation Alpha – are expected to enter the market. Rising global incomes, generational wealth transfers and a projected 20% increase in the number of high-net-worth individuals will increase the pool of potential buyers.
Despite the falling first half revenues reported, there was ample local demand for LVMH’s fashion and leathergoods, and the sector maintained its very high operating margin. “Beyond the prevailing uncertainties, we remain focused, thanks to the long-term vision that has always guided our family group,” says group CEO Bernard Arnault. “We head into the second half of the year with great vigilance, and I am confident in LVMH’s tremendous long-term potential and the commitment of our teams. Our main shared priority is about offering our customers the most exceptional products.”
The big luxury brands need to refocus on the fundamentals of the luxury business, having clear and differentiated brand identities and high product quality, concludes Bain. Increased technology – especially the use of AI – supply chain modernisation and more sophisticated pricing analytics will be essential. “As the industry faces an increasingly complex global landscape, luxury brands are entering a pivotal new chapter – one that demands sharper focus, greater cultural relevance and growth rooted in purpose,” says Federica Levato, Bain’s head of fashion and luxury in Europe. “At the heart of this transformation is a redefinition of value and meaning that resonates across all generations – with those shaping luxury today, and those who will define it tomorrow.”
MAGAZINES
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