Addressing Scope 3 emissions
Stahl’s climate change mitigation ambitions include the reduction of its Scope 3 (upstream) greenhouse gas emissions by 25% over the next 10 years as well as supporting customers in achieving their own climate goals.
World Leather - Feb/Mar 0
Chrome VI limits called into question
AFIRM, a group of brands in the apparel, footwear and sporting goods industries, has said it is hard to see how any tightening of the allowable limits of chrome VI in leather can be approved. Further, the group believes the validity of the current limit i
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2020
Microscopy techniques applied to leather
The use of different types of microscopes and their application to the
leather sector is of importance. Through these investigative techniques,
the National Italian Leather Research Institute (SSIP) also offers additional
specialist support aimed at verif
World Leather - Jun/July 2020
Assessing the biodegradability of leather
Spanish research institute Inescop has developed technology that can help tanners make a quick assessment of the impact that new products and processes will have on the biodegradability of their leather.
World Leather - Jun/July 2020
The ongoing value of waste
Just as tanners are proud of the
circular economy cachet that their
use of waste from the meat and dairy
sectors gives, they have to make the
fullest possible use of the waste their
own production generates too.
World Leather - Apr/May 2020
The dynamics of leather combustion
Leather is a combustible material and must be treated with appropriate flameretardant
products to pass fire-prevention testing. This is part one of a twopart
article on this subject from Ikem. With more than 40 years’ experience of
offering beamhouse, tan
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2019
Green Beamhouse – a toolbox for sustainable, high-quality leather
The arrangement of wastewater treatment plants and the requirements in terms of incoming
wastewater vary from country to country and from region to region. This requires tanneries to
adjust their processes and to focus on the reduction of certain wastewat
World Leather - Aug/Sept 2019
A future focused on innovation
Tanning group PrimeAsia hosted an open-house event at its tannery in Vietnam in
March to celebrate the completion of an expansion project it began in 2015.
World Leather - Apr/May 2019
Solutions for the skills gap
Digital skills are needed on factory floors if leather and leathergoods manufacturers
in Europe are to enjoy success in the future. Industry figures believe they have
identified the skills gaps that need addressing most urgently and the European
Commissio
World Leather - Apr/May 2019
Leather project will boost jobs and exports
A start-up venture that aims to build a world-class leather and finished product operation in
Nigeria launched in early 2019. The initiative, called the Pan African Leather project, will
involve setting up a new tannery, a new shoe factory and other artis
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2019
Leather – a sustainable choice
World Leather technical editor, Matthew Abbott, reports from the fourth annual Lanxess leather symposium, which took place at the company’s headquarters in Cologne in January.
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2019
The needs of the many
A number of UK footwear companies have come together with the British
Footwear Association (BFA) to launch a new nationally accredited apprenticeship
standard that it is hoped will help train the next generation of shoemakers.
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2018
How Italy can meet growing demand for automotive leather
Automotive leather is growing in Italy, with the market more than doubling since 2002.
But it is still only a handful of the country’s 1,200 tanners that have invested in the
technology and space required to add automotive to the range of markets they ser
World Leather - Aug/Sept 2018
Naturally individual
When ‘no-waste’ becomes the new luxury, consumers will start to accept scars in cars, says
automotive leather expert Florian Schrey. The upside is that ‘individualisation’ is becoming
more and more important in purchase decisions and, because every hide i
World Leather - Aug/Sept 2018
Arzignano is the leather industry’s Silicon Valley
The much travelled international sales director of leather chemicals group GSC, Diego Cisco, argues
that the Arzignano tanning cluster, near his company’s headquarters in northern Italy, can offer an
example of leadership, innovation and entrepreneurial s
World Leather - Jun/July 2018
Ten key issues facing the leather supply chain
The leather industry and the leather chemicals industry have faced many challenges together. With greater social and environmental awareness, the pace of change continues to increase and the challenges that arise require faster, smarter responses. The ten
World Leather - June/July 2017
RSL, ZDHC and the brands
Leather chemicals manufacturer Lanxess ran a successful two-day seminar in
Cologne in January, offering representatives of a wide range of finished product
brands detailed information and in-depth discussion on the subject of how
restricted substance list
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2016
Mercier Turner introduces the CNC Splitting Machine
The endless band knife leather splitting machine first conceived and built in the nineteenth century has ever since, proudly and justly, been regarded as the most sophisticated precision piece of equipment used in the leather making industry. Despite many
World Leather - June/July 2015
Extra complexity after Lear makes its move
Relationships in the automotive supply chain have always been interesting, not least for tanners, who usually sell
to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) but supply finished leather or cut parts to specialist tier-one suppliers
of seats, steering whee
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2015
Microscopic observation of tensile testing on leather fibre bundles
The simultaneous acquisition of data on tensile force and extension values, as well as sequences of
microscopic images, enables the process of fibre extension and rupture to be optically traced and documented.
This information reveals the way that the fib
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2014
Centro Tecnologico das industrias do Couro (CTIC) - 20th anniversary
The Leather Technology Centre, Portugal, was created as a result of an initiative between the leather industry and the public institutions IAPMEI (Institute for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises) and INETI (Portuguese Institute for Engineering and Techn
World Leather - Aug/Sept 2014
Link-Lock: an explanation of the chemical stabilisation of collagen
Chemical modifications of collagen, of the type known in the leather tanning industry, can raise the denaturation temperature, from 60ºC in its natural state, up to 130ºC. There are only a few chemical reactions known to be capable of achieving the highest values and these have long been assumed to be unrelated.
World Leather - Oct/Nov 2010
EasyWhite Tan leather: A tanning evolution
This paper describes a new white tanning system from Clariant for leathers suitable for automotive, shoe upper and other classic leather types. The absence of common salt as normally used in the pickle stage has significant implications within clean techn
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2011
Relationships in the formation of hexavalent chrome [Cr(VI)] (Part 2)
Leder Institute Reutlingen (LGR) has examined the occurrence of toxic materials in a variety of chrome leathers and leather articles for many years. The Health & Safety department of the German government has shown that some leather goods - such as gloves, shoes and watchstraps - which come into intimate contact with the skin, can contain Cr(VI) in significant quantities. The federal authority has decided in Section 18 of the Consumer Regulations(1) to prohibit Cr(VI) detection limits of the analytical procedure above 3 mg/kg for leathers in daily use.
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2011
Elements in the leather industry: Part 2
The elements of the periodic table have a diverse and
interesting history. This article will attempt to bring
some richness to the elements that are used or are present
in the manufacture of leather or the treatment of its waste.
World Leather - 04 - June/July 2008
A new aqueous transfer coating system for splits
Transfer coating of splits is a well-known and established
process in leather finishing. The physical properties and
the optical advantages are significant. At present the stateof-
the-art technology is solvent-based systems, applied either via
spraying technology or with rollers and doctor blades onto
silicone matrices. These matrices have to be made individually
and, because of the sensitivity, have to be handled and stored very carefully.
World Leather - 01 - Feb/Mar 2008
The Colombian leather sector: A renaissance banquet of feast and famine!
The basis of the Renaissance was the willingness of people
to adopt technology and concepts from other cultures.
The Colombian leather sector, while very traditional, nevertheless still has a positive Renaissance outlook. Since there has been a very deep relationship between cattle ranching and leather, these facts can help explain the character of the leather sector.
World Leather - 01 - Feb/Mar 2008
Improving the traditional vegetable tanning process
Vegetable tanned leathers are typical of the high-quality
leathers produced within the tanning district of Santa
Croce sull’Arno, Italy. This is the oldest and most classic
type of leather, combining the values of quality and tradition.
To safeguard and improve these traditional leathers, it is
recognised that the tanning industry not only needs to pay more
attention to the process, but also employ new technologies to
guarantee better production constancy.
World Leather - 01 - Feb/Mar 2008
Companies act to keep chromium VI out
The problem of chromium VI does not appear to go away, and is being taken very seriously by fashion groups, especially those selling children's footwear. When health matters – and especially children's health – are considerations, any concerns of the cons
World Leather - 03 - May 2008
The 110th Annual SLTC conference 2007
The 110th annual conference of the Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists was held in Chester UK on Saturday September 29, 2007, the event being attended by 77 people from the leather and associated industries. In total eight technical papers were presented including The Atkin Memorial lecture, “The beamhouse, foundation for leather making—experience during 50 years”, given by John Basford.
World Leather - 07 - Nov 2007
The scientific and commercial significance of variations in strength and stretch in leather
Any variations in physical properties—especially the degree of stretch under load and the tensile strength—need to be accommodated within a manufactured item to both extract the best value from the leather and, in the longer term, to ensure customer satisfaction. This applies to almost all items manufactured from leather—garments, leather goods, furniture, automotive components, and footwear—as there is a need for shape retention during wear and use.
World Leather - 07 - Nov 2007
Swelling within the leather manufacturing process
Swelling is the increase of volume of a material due to the absorption and/or retention of a solvent, by structural changes or heat. The word implies a shift from the norm, or a comparison to a less distended state.
World Leather - Nov 2006
Water management
Driven by legislation: The concept of zero discharge for water.
World Leather - April 2006
Otzi died with his boots on
In 1991 a deep frozen corpse was discovered at 3,210 metres on top of a mountain on the border between Austria and Italy. He has been nicknamed Otzi and has been the subject of intense scientific research. The ancient footwear fascinated Petr Hlavacek from Zlin's Thomas Bata University who has reconstructed Otzi's boots.
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2006
Münzing goes for growth: 175 years on
Older than Bayer or BASF and still 100% family owned, Münzing Chemie GmbH remains rooted in same location where it was founded nearly two centuries ago. Its technologies have evolved but yet retain an uncanny resemblance to the procedures and the advanced
World Leather - Oct 2005
The diffusion barrier within the unhairing process
World Leather takes a look at the hair-saving processes for bovine hides that are being applied in tanneries in several countries to replace traditional hair burning systems.
World Leather - Oct 2005
The real cost of a kilo of salt: Part 1
The first part of two looks at salinity in the tanning process: responsibility and actions, and the elimination of salt from acid pickles.
World Leather - May 2005
Back to Basics: A framework for leather manufacture
Introduction to the series.This is a complex subject, but this new work sets out a structure where the better-known aspects
of leather chemistry and machine processing operate. With roots within the physics and craft of
leather making, it is hoped that te
World Leather - April 2005
The role of bound and free water in the liming process
In World Leather August/September 2004, observations were presented showing
that if limed hides were washed at different temperatures, a warmer wash caused
an increase in softness and hide relaxation, but without change in the total water
content. Referen
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2004
Back to Basics: Environmental - Part 10 of 10
Solid wastes and sludges: The most effective ways to minimise the problem presented by solid waste and sludges are reduce waste at source, view by-products as potential raw materials and manage sludges effectively.
World Leather - Nov 2004
Back to Basics: Environmental - Part 9 of 10
Sludge handling: Gross solids as sludges from primary settling are pumped from the base of the settling tank. Having a solids content of about 4%, these require dewatering before disposal. In hot climates this dewatering is commonly performed in sludge dr
World Leather - Oct 2004
The glass transition temperature of leather and its implications to the leather industry
A comprehensive understanding of the physical and mechanical
behaviour of leather is essential within leather processing and leather
goods manufacture. Glass transition is the single most important thermal
property to study because it is directly linked to molecular flexibility, thus
affecting leather performance in all temperature related operations.
World Leather - Aug/Sep 2004
Back to Basics: Environmental - Part 7 of 10
Secondary effluent treatment: After separation of the solids from the effluent by primary clarification, the supernatant is delivered for aerobic biological treatment. Known as the activated sludge process, the effluent requires continuous aeration to en
World Leather - June/July 2004
Back to Basics: Environmental - Part 6 of 10
Primary effluent treatment: It is recognised that the first stage in the treatment of wastes from any process operation is to use the most appropriate materials and optimise performance. However, even after applying the best available technology to leathe
World Leather - May 2004
The theory of tanning
For thousands of years the knowledge of tanning was passed from generation to generation. But it is only in the last 150 years that serious research started.
World Leather - April 2004
Microscopical studies in leather manufacture. Part 4 of 4: Finishing
The coatings produced in leather finishing are generally resin polymers or protein based applied using water as the medium. These finishes also contain other components such as pigments, dyes and matting agents to adjust the appearance of the leather.
World Leather - Feb/Mar 2004
Back to basics: Part 7 of 9. Retanning, dyeing and softening
It is not possible to build the exact properties required into the leathers during the tanning operation. This applies in particular to chrome leathers, so it is common practice to develop the leather character by further wet processing of the shaved good
World Leather - Dec/Jan 2002
Saving our past for the future
John Waterer was the first to carry out detailed studies on the conservation of leathers. Many of these techniques had been developed and applied in previous decades for the care and preservation of leather bookbindings.
World Leather - Oct 2003
26 bones, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles
The whole foundation of designing a well fitting, comfortable shoe lies in understanding the nature of the foot for which it is intended. Considering the volume of leather used for shoes, Alan Weston, SATRA Technology Centre, provides a timely reminder of
World Leather - June/July 2003
Vertical integration: the Forward Group of Companies
Forward Group is one of the largest, fastest growing leather and footwear manufacturing companies in India. The group, a conglomerate of tannery, shoe upper, full shoes and moulded sole manufacturing divisions, started as a small tannery producing EI Goat
World Leather - June/July 2003
Round hides into flat leather
The need for flat shoe upper material, with predictable stretch, set and ‘memory’, are well appreciated in footwear manufacture. Leather can provide these properties. Nevertheless, given the basic uniqueness of each raw hide, the degree of uniformity achi
World Leather - June/July 2003
