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Browse a handpicked selection of World Leather articles, thought provoking topics ranging from fast fashion to zero waste are all here. Premium + and World Leather subscribers can delve deeper, with access to the industry beating archive of over 1,400 World Leather technical papers in the archive.
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12 May 2022
Spray-on upholstery - leather, world leather Spray-on upholstery
Free Content
With deep roots in the furniture manufacturing sector, start-up Cooloo is making impressive inroads into the vibrant Dutch circular-economy scene with its innovative, waste-consuming leather upholstery.
10 May 2022
Patience pays off - leather, world leather Patience pays off
Free Content
Leathergoods brand Barnes and Moore values the beauty that comes from slow, considered manufacturing – an ethos it has in common with its supplier, J&FJ Baker, a tannery whose leathers take 14 months to...
03 May 2022
Road to recovery - leather, world leather Road to recovery
Free Content
Italy’s leather sector, encouraged by recent comments from Prime Minister Mario Draghi, can be optimistic about contributing to the country’s recovery from covid and to benefiting from a share of European...
26 April 2022
The zero-waste generation - leather, world leather The zero-waste generation
Free Content
A group of accessories designers is emerging now with a commitment to zero-waste that is so intense, they are not just willing to use leather offcuts, but they prefer to use this previously undervalued...
19 April 2022
Greenwashing has got to go - leather, world leather Greenwashing has got to go
Free Content
Years of work in the European Union to develop clear rules for calculating products’ environmental footprint are nearing their conclusion. The leather industry was an early and ardent contributor to this...
29 March 2022
In safe hands - leather, world leather In safe hands
Free Content
Footwear and leathergoods brands, keen to offer restoration services to their customers, have found a specialist partner they can rely on in The Restory.
22 March 2022
National award winner - leather, world leather National award winner
Free Content
The debate about the circular economy is gathering pace in many parts of the world. Leather sometimes seems to be on the periphery of these discussions, but in one South American country, Uruguay, the industry ...
15 March 2022
Erem’s biocircular ambitions - leather, world leather Erem’s biocircular ambitions
Free Content
The CEO of a new brand, and great-grandson of the Timberland founder, tells us how leather and sustainable materials are central to his desire to demonstrate a new way of working.
08 March 2022
Truly remarkable - leather, world leather Truly remarkable
Free Content
A record year for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars for both sales and bespoke work means that its leather workshop is busier and more important than ever.
01 March 2022
An economist’s message of hope - leather, world leather An economist’s message of hope
Free Content
Some of Italy’s 4,000-plus footwear manufacturers are small and, at times, a little fragile, but Milan-based economist Enrica Baccini insists the Italian shoe industry as a whole is “anti-fragile”.
22 February 2022
Soling tradition will live on - leather, world leather Soling tradition will live on
Free Content
Oak bark-tanned leather soles are synonymous with high-quality handmade shoes, so it was a blow to hear in recent months of the loss of one of the oldest manufacturers of this product, J R Rendenbach in...
15 February 2022
A fair COP for leather - leather, world leather A fair COP for leather
Free Content
Leather had its ups and downs at COP26, but, in the end, it came out of the event well.
25 January 2022
The highs and lows of harvest - leather, world leather The highs and lows of harvest
Free Content
Long considered the last word in luxury, reports that Hermès had moved in on mycelium earlier this year suddenly added a certain sheen to the biomaterial which, for many, had not been there before. World...
14 December 2021
Charging ahead - leather, world leather Charging ahead
Free Content
The big carmakers are accelerating their electric vehicles programmes, but the contradiction in the desire to move away from fossil fuels for power yet use more fossil fuel-based synthetics in the interiors...
07 December 2021
A journey through time - leather, world leather A journey through time
Free Content
Few have the design pedigree of Ramesh Nair, artistic director of French luxury house Joseph Duclos. He is a pivotal part of a new set up for the revived brand, which first made its name as a privileged...
30 November 2021
Stats prove animals-for-leather claims are false - leather, world leather Stats prove animals-for-leather claims are false
Free Content
Leather is available to us because livestock farmers raise animals to supply meat and dairy companies. It is demand for food rather than the desire for leather that leads to those animals going to slaughter....
23 November 2021
Industry’s angry reaction to Volvo - leather, world leather Industry’s angry reaction to Volvo
Free Content
Announcements from automotive company Volvo that it is ending its use of leather has prompted an unusually fierce, but justifiable, response from the industry.
09 November 2021
A COP26 call to arms - leather, world leather A COP26 call to arms
Free Content
Leather industry bodies have joined forces to ask the COP26 summit to recognise the benefits of using leather and other natural materials instead of allowing brands and consumers to develop an “unnecessary...
28 September 2021
Entrepreneurial spirit - leather, world leather Entrepreneurial spirit
Free Content
Help is at hand for leather-sector start-ups in France in the shape of incubator body Au Delà du Cuir (ADC). More than 60 small companies have received a boost from it already. As the industry seeks to rebuild ...
21 September 2021
Sieme weaves leather waste network - leather, world leather Sieme weaves leather waste network
Free Content
The founder of a new accessories brand predicts a more collaborative way of working that gives Italian artisans a bigger influence on design. She is also helping to boost ASPRI, a new association that gives...
14 September 2021
Doctor’s orders - leather, world leather Doctor’s orders
Free Content
Few brands have kept pace with the times as well as the seemingly ever-present Dr Martens, which remains fashionably relevant following wave after wave of popular culture. World Leather catches up with the...
06 September 2021
Industry challenges Veja’s leather decision - leather, world leather Industry challenges Veja’s leather decision
Free Content
Veja has published the results of a lifecycle assessment (LCA) exercise, claiming that it shows raw materials to contribute more than 70% of its total carbon footprint, with leather accounting for almost all...
30 August 2021
A century of tradition - leather, world leather A century of tradition
Free Content
German outdoor brand Hanwag’s manufacturing techniques enable easy resoling for boots that are eminently durable, and it is proud of its longstanding partnership with German tannery Heinen.
24 August 2021
Same leather, a new look at jobs - leather, world leather Same leather, a new look at jobs
Free Content
A new circular strategy for leather and textiles, soon to be released by the European Union (EU), promises to underscore the significant role leather continues to play in promoting a fair and closed-loop...
05 August 2021
A new approach to sourcing leather - leather, world leather A new approach to sourcing leather
Free Content
Mulberry wants its customers to think of buying its bags as a way to contribute towards saving the world.
03 August 2021
French resistance - leather, world leather French resistance
Free Content
The president of France’s Conseil National du Cuir (CNC), Frank Boehly, has continued his campaign to confirm leather’s circular-economy credentials in recent weeks, not least in a stout defence of leather in...
29 July 2021
Circular material from leather waste - leather, world leather Circular material from leather waste
Free Content
Innovative yarn producer Spinnova is adding leather to the list of natural raw materials it can work with. KT Trading is lending its weight and its waste to the idea. Two major footwear brands, adidas and...
27 July 2021
Late lessons in luxury - leather, world leather Late lessons in luxury
Free Content
As Diego Della Valle, the CEO of leathergoods group Tod’s, mulls stepping back from the day-to-day running of the company, he considers how the market has matured – and says he has changed his mind about what...
22 July 2021
Milestones for Gruppo Dani - leather, world leather Milestones for Gruppo Dani
Free Content
One of Italy’s most prominent leather manufacturing groups is celebrating a series of recent achievements on its path towards embracing circular-economy principles.
20 July 2021
Links for luxury’s loops - leather, world leather Links for luxury’s loops
Free Content
While the classic luxury experience was crafted to surprise and delight, a new narrative is gaining ground, with deep roots in preserving the beauty of the natural world and its resources through...
15 July 2021
Flaws in Farm to Fork - leather, world leather Flaws in Farm to Fork
Free Content
Multistakeholder group European Livestock Voice has flagged up nine contradictions in the Farm To Fork strategy. Leather industry body COTANCE is one of the signatories of a joint statement highlighting these...
06 July 2021
Eastern promise - leather, world leather Eastern promise
Free Content
Italian footwear group Sergio Rossi is betting big on Asia with a new direction in its 70th year. Its CEO has placed great emphasis on sustainability, with the factory now running on green energy.
29 June 2021
Material choices matter - leather, world leather Material choices matter
Free Content
The circular economy vision that has emerged from William McDonough’s early work on Cradle To Cradle suggests that we must make less, buy less and consume less. If this is to work, the things we do buy and use ...
22 June 2021
The sustainable €6 million bag - leather, world leather The sustainable €6 million bag
Free Content
Bologna-based luxury brand Boarini Milanesi broke a world record last year when it launched a new version of its Parva Mea model, the most expensive handbag in the world. The eye-watering price-tag supports...
15 June 2021
Shoes blaze Budget-Day trail - leather, world leather Shoes blaze Budget-Day trail
Free Content
The first woman in Canada to become minister of finance, Chrystia Freeland, delivered her inaugural federal budget speech on April 19. As detailed here, fine leather shoes from Italy had an important role to...
08 June 2021
Flair for repair - leather, world leather Flair for repair
Free Content
France’s Conseil National du Cuir believes specialist shoe repair professionals are fervent defenders of circular-economy values.
01 June 2021
Hand, head and heart - leather, world leather Hand, head and heart
Free Content
Following consumer backlash and mounting regulation surrounding fashion’s clandestine practice of destroying leftover merchandise, enterprising luxury houses have looked within to find ways of beautifying...
25 May 2021
Time to tell leather’s circular story - leather, world leather Time to tell leather’s circular story
Free Content
The European Commission is pressing ahead with its plans to bring in official policies, and even legislation, to determine what is and what is not a sustainable product. A public consultation is under way,...
11 May 2021
Nontrivial pursuits - leather, world leather Nontrivial pursuits
Free Content
Take the high-speed train down from mountain-rimmed Seoul to coastal Busan and you cannot fail to spot South Korea’s trek-ready, hilly terrain, which winds itself up and down the country like a spine. Hiking...
04 May 2021
Radley – no underdog in luxury market - leather, world leather Radley – no underdog in luxury market
Free Content
The UK leathergoods brand has expansion firmly in its sights. Radley’s head of supply and development tells World Leather that a more sumptuous look, and increasing leather useage, is part of its growth...
27 April 2021
Cheap fossil fuels are the problem - leather, world leather Cheap fossil fuels are the problem
Free Content
Efforts to shift businesses to a circular-economy model are being undermined, the 2021 Davos audience hears, by fossil-fuel subsidies the size of the GDP of Japan.
20 April 2021
Bags that free hides from purgatory - leather, world leather Bags that free hides from purgatory
Free Content
Designer and developer of leather collections Moore & Giles has released a capsule collection of bags called Reclaimed. What sets it apart is that, on this occasion, the Virginia-based company has chosen hides ...
13 April 2021
Clear goals - leather, world leather Clear goals
Free Content
In early 2021, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation published a set of policy goals that make several things clear. The circular economy is the way for the world to put the current wasteful way of doing things...
01 April 2021
Total transparency - leather, world leather Total transparency
Free Content
A footwear company from Denmark believes that using leather that consumers can trace back to the farms that reared the cattle that supplied the hides strengthens its brand and enhances its sustainability story.
23 February 2021
New possibility for recycling leather scraps - leather, world leather New possibility for recycling leather scraps
Free Content
A US company has coined a way of turning tanneries’ waste into a new material without bonding with polymers; interested parties include Timberland...

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