Leading news site for the global leather industry

Must Read

Preparations in place for early St Crispin’s Day celebrations

News

More News...

Bata to open global design centre in Amsterdam

Bata Group plans to open BataWorks, a global product, brand and design centre in Amsterdam's Schinkel District, in the first quarter of 2027.The centre will lead product and brand development for...

Manifesto signatories up to 20
Twenty leather industry organisations from around the world have now signed the industry manifesto for COP31. ...
Skechers reports responsible leather sourcing progress
US footwear brand Skechers says 100% of the leather it purchased in 2025 came from suppliers certified by the ...
Lear names new CFO
Automotive seating supplier Lear Corporation has appointed Jared Fedele as senior vice-president and chief...
New leadership for Pakistan’s footwear industry
The Pakistan Footwear Manufacturers Association (PFMA) has elected Hassan Javed as its new chairman. Mr...
Paris and Milan disturbances affect luxury retailers
Luxury leathergoods brands were caught up in social disturbances in Paris and Milan in...

Intelligence

More Intelligence...

The Pipeline

Market Intelligence September 2026

Official reports from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in mid-September suggest that 281,200 whole cattle hides shipped to customers overseas in the period from Friday, September 11 to Thursday, September 17, 2026. Of these, 179,100 ...

Market Intelligence—14.07.26
Developments during the last few weeks can probably best be described as the usual summer slowdown, ...
Market Intelligence—09.06.26
The leather supply chain has shown little additional momentum over the past few weeks. This can be...
US Perspective – 29.09.26
The most recent reports on hide prices have shown butt-branded steers weighing 64-66 pounds up in...
German Perspective – 14.07.26
This week: Selling activities remained extremely quiet this week, in line with the usual...
US Perspective – 14.07.26
For the period ending July 2 there were exports from the US of 337,000 whole cattle hides. The...

Q + A

More Q + A...

Podcasts

Silver lining – ICHSLTA president Micaela Topper

The president of the International Council of Hides, Skins, and Leather Traders Association (ICHSLTA) shares her views on hides going to waste, regulatory requirements and the need for campaigns to tackle misinformation. How many cattle...

Leather Leaders: Dr Christine Anscombe on the Future of Leather Education
Dr Christine Anscombe became the chair of the training commission (IUT) of the International Union...
Questions about copies
The chief executive and scientific director of research and testing body FILK Freiberg Institute,...
A new deal for Assomac
The body that represents leather and footwear manufacturing technology developers in Italy says it...
Rajendra Kumar Jalan: India: perceptions have changed
The new chairman of Indias Council for Leather Exports, Rajendra Kumar Jalan, says the government’s ...

World Leather podcast: Series 2, Episode 1 - 11 February 2021

In the latest in our Leather Leaders interview series, Dr Luis Zugno, president of IULTCS, talks to World Leather about his 45 years in the industry, his reflections on a turbulent first year at the head of the leather chemists’ and technologists’ body and his hopes for the 2021 and beyond. Asked about areas in which he would like to see innovation in the future, Dr Zugno delivers a detailed list of ideas that, taken together, constitute a real programme for change that leather manufacturers and their chemicals and technology suppliers can, and must, address together.

World Leather podcast: Series 1, Episode 9 - 22 October 2020

A new edition of the World Leather Podcast is available for leather professionals around the world to listen to. In this episode, we offer an audio version of our recent interview with Tom Schneider, the founder of ISA TanTec. Mr Schneider discusses the impact of covid-19 so far on his company and on the leather industry in general. In the podcast, which is available here, he also gives his opinion of what 2021 is likely to hold. Later in the conversation, Mr Schneider explains in detail why ISA TanTec has decided to launch a new division, Creation of Sustainable Materials (COSM), to prepare alternative materials, made from non-animal natural resources, for brands to use in vegan collections.

World Leather Podcast: Series 1, episode 6 - 06 July 2020

In this episode of the podcast, the World Leather team discusses a new sustainability strategy, Sustainable By Nature, that Scottish Leather Group (SLG) formally announced recently. SLG’s announcement, including the six commitments it made public at that time, and the group’s history of being a sustainability pioneer in the global leather industry.

World Leather Podcast: Series 1, episode 8 - 02 October 2020

A new edition of the World Leather Podcast is available for leather professionals around the world to listen to. In this episode, published on October 2, 2020, the team analyses in detail the saga, so far, of LVMH’s on-off attempts to acquire New York-based luxury brand Tiffany. In the podcast, which is available here, we offer a summary of the main events since the two companies announced a deal in November 2019 and speculate on whether or not it will ever be completed.

World Leather Podcast: Series 1, episode 7 - 22 August 2020

This episode of the World Leather Podcast was published on August 22, 2020. It is another in our Leather Leaders interview series, this time with Andreas Kindermann. Since 2008, Andreas Kindermann has been chief executive of Wollsdorf Leather, a specialist producer of leather for steering-wheels, furniture upholstery and aircraft interiors, with its headquarters in Austria. He steered the company back to growth following the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, opened sewing and cutting plants in China and Croatia, established or redeveloped sales offices in Hong Kong, Uruguay and the US, and, in 2019, established a new tannery and leather cutting facility in Mexico. He led Wollsdorf to victory in the Global Tannery of the Year award in 2014. He was elected president of COTANCE, the...

World Leather Podcast: Series 1, episode 5 - 08 June 2020

We published this episode of the World Leather Podcast on June 8, 2020. This episode is another in our Leather Leaders interview series, this time with Jon Clark, chief executive of PrimeAsia. Tanning group PrimeAsia has leather manufacturing facilities in Huangjiang in China and in Ba Ria-Vung Tau in Vietnam. These tanneries have a combined production capacity of around 11 million square-feet of finished lifestyle and athletic leather per year, which the group supplies to dozens of global footwear brands. In this interview, chief executive, Jon Clark, offers some reflections on the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on PrimeAsia’s operations and on the wider leather industry.

World Leather Podcast: Series 1, episode 4 - 29 April 2020

This episode was published on April 29, 2020.This time, the podcast is devoted to the second in our series of Leather Leaders interviews. In late 2019, the president of Portugal’s main leather industry body, APIC, Nuno Carvalho, published an article in the main national newspaper strenuously defending the industry against unfair criticism over environmental standards at its main production centre, Alcanena. He felt the days of simply waiting for troubles to pass over had to come to an end. Mr Carvalho discusses the circumstances that led to this action.

World Leather Podcast: Series 1, episode 3 - 15 March 2020

This episode of the World Leather Podcast was published on March 15, 2020.This discussion among members of the World Leather team examines the impacts that the coronavirus or covid-19 outbreak had had on the global leather industry by mid-March 2020.

World Leather Podcast: Series 1, episode 2 - 31 January 2020

This episode of the World Leather Podcast was published on January 31, 2020. It set out to examine how changes in meat consumption will affect the leather sector. Subjects discussed include reflections on ‘Veganuary’ and meat substitutes and how they could affect leather production in the years ahead. Subjects discussed include reflections on ‘Veganuary’ and meat substitutes and how they could affect leather production in the years ahead.

World Leather launches new Leather Leaders series - 17 January 2020

To mark the start of this new decade, World Leather is launching a series of in-depth interviews with leading figures in the tanning industry to ask for their perspective on the recent history of the global leather sector and their impressions of what the 2020s might hold. The series, which has the name Leather Leaders, launches in the December 2019-January 2020 issue of the magazine. In the first of our Leather Leaders interviews, we talk to honorary president of the Scottish Leather Group, Jonathan Muirhead. He speaks at length about the positive way in which most of the leather industry responded during the last decade when demands intensified for it to become more sustainable. “There is still much to do, but I think the leather industry can hold its head up high,” ...

Features

More Features...

World Leather

Suddenly, the EU loves “essential” livestock

Livestock farming contributes 40% of the total added value of the agriculture sector in the EU. The European Commission has published a new strategy for preserving and developing this valuable asset. The European ...

Footwear offers hope for lasting change
A student has used her passion for inclusive footwear as a springboard...
Ecco trials leather waste fibre
The Danish brand has shown that wet blue shavings can be transformed into...
A monument in need of rebuilding
Our analysis of Kering’s confusing recent messages about leather concludes ...
UNIDO sounds the call for harmony
A UNIDO project to set out new guidelines for calculating and assessing...
Mulberry’s ‘true north’ points to the farm
The leathergoods brand has teamed up with British Pasture Leather for a...

Nothing To Hide

More Nothing To Hide...

Nothing To Hide: ESG in the leather industry

About this essay This essay highlights prominent examples of corporate social responsibility in action, something we more commonly now refer to as environmental, social and governance (ESG). The original text, published in 2015, used...