President Hu sees special side of veg-tanned leather
The Ausonia tannery in Santa Croce sull'Arno, which hosted the president of China, Hu Jintao, during his visit to Italy at the start of July, has said that it took the opportunity to make clear to the Chinese premier the special qualities of vegetable-tanned leather.
The company has told leatherbiz.com: "The difference between our eco-friendly leather and the leather from mass production with chrome and synthetic materials is quite important. We explained the production process to President Hu and he was able to see for himself the difference our respect for the environment can make. He was interested in our technologies and production methods because in China there are problems with pollution and respect for the environment."
Ausonia added that, at the end of the visit, President Hu, congratulated the Italian tanning company and said he hoped it would increase its levels of business and relationships with Chinese manufacturers, with whom it has been working for some time and to whom it exports around 50% of its finished leather.
At the end of the visit, the company presented a travel bag and handbag made from its leather to President Hu and his wife, Liu Yongqing.
