Sustainable Development And Leather Industry Image As The Theme Of Industry Development

"The challenges facing the global leather industry lie in two major themes: the sustainable development of the industry and the image of the leather industry."

This is the view expressed by Robert Paul Pearson, Secretary General of the international leather Committee at the eighth leather forum held in Shanghai recently.

The price fluctuation of leather industry is influenced by many factors.

Sustainable development is the common goal pursued by the leather industry in the world, but it is constrained by many factors.

Robert judged that because the price fluctuation of raw materials in the global leather industry is affected by multiple factors, the trend of short supply will continue, and more and more new alternatives will also enter the market.

Robert used a clear chart to show the current share of global meat production. The consumption of poultry and pork from traditional leather materials in non leather industry accounted for 70% of the total, while the proportion of main raw materials from beef, mutton and sheep meat accounted for only 30%.

From the growth trend, the consumption of poultry and pork is increasing, but the growth of goat meat and beef consumption is not ideal. Robert believes that although the consumption of goat meat has shown a healthy upward trend, the supply pressure of leather raw materials is still large, and the impact on price fluctuation is obvious.

Over the past year, China Leather net has observed that various countries in Brazil and other countries have taken different measures to restrict the export of raw materials, and the leather industry that has not yet taken measures has been calling for government restrictions.

According to the data provided by Robert, this export restriction has reached 66.6% of the global total in terms of the number of sheets in the world, and by weight, it accounts for 52.9% of the total.

Robert said that the trend of supply shortage will continue for a long time, and many alternatives will be pushed to market instead of leather.

With the enhancement of global awareness of environmental protection, the requirements for the treatment of waste water, waste solids and waste gas discharged from the leather industry are becoming increasingly stringent, resulting in an increase in the cost of production.

Robert believes that the industry should not be pessimistic. The progress of the existing science and technology is enough to make up for the cost pressure of environmental production in some aspects, and even bring some additional value to the waste materials and by-products. The control of chemical products is a real challenge for the industry. The EU's REACH regulations, the EPA regulations of the United States, and the relevant regulations on tannery industry specifications promulgated by China this year put forward more stringent requirements from the aspects of workers' contacts, factory production environment and chemical content of products.

Through the investigation and analysis of the customers, it shows that the cohesion of the buyers becomes stronger, and the reorganization of enterprises such as mergers and integration makes the buyers' rights more and more powerful and more picky.

Robert, for example, says that the profit pressure faced by the automotive industry is very large, because customers have put forward higher requirements in all aspects, including the traceability information of materials, the manufacturing environment and production areas of products, and even the environmental footprint of product manufacturing process, that is, what kind of impact on the environment.

Efforts should be made to establish positive image of the industry.

Another challenge facing the global leather industry is the criticism from non-governmental organizations, which has had different effects on the image of the leather industry. The whole industry including the international tannery Commission and other organizations are taking various measures to deal with it positively.

Robert introduced that the international leather Committee and the International Federation of leather craft and chemist associations and the international leather trade association jointly formed the world.

The Coordination Committee meets at least two times a year to discuss common issues.

In order to correct the misreading of the leather industry due to the incorrect assessment of the environmental footprint, the international leather Committee has also worked with the European Union tanning Manufacturers Association to jointly carry out the pilot study of the European Union from June 2014 to December 2016, and compile the manual for measuring the environmental footprint of leather products.

The final conclusion is that the carbon footprint of leather should be calculated from the slaughterhouse, because the main purpose of raising animals is not to make leather, but to target meat and milk. This is the first factor determining the number of animals that are raised and slaughtered, and finally decides the output of raw skins.

It is important for consumers to know what kind of raw materials their products are made. Correct labeling and name annotation are very important to the leather industry.

He explained that with the frequent appearance of new technologies and new materials, consumers often have difficulty distinguishing the difference between genuine leather and other alternatives, and the appearance of alternatives is irreversible. Therefore, using the correct labeling such as leather labels will not only help the industry to fully understand Pi Jiding's meaning, but also enable consumers to clearly understand their consumption.

Robert added that Europe has already added the terms, names and standards of leather for automobiles and furniture on the basis of old standards.

In addition, Robert also said that through the global leather Coordination Committee, the International Federation of leather chemists and Chemists Association (IULTCS), a technology agency, will draft a new draft standard that incorporates the European Union and the entire ISO standard.

In addition to the methods of testing key substances in the leather industry, the draft will list a number of chemicals directly or indirectly related to the leather industry to meet the testing requirements of retailers and brands for a large series of chemicals.

It is understood that members of the international tannery committee are mainly from the national tanneries of 38 countries in the world, including China, Italy, Brazil, the United States and Japan, and other major leather producing countries.

The international leather Committee aims at promoting leather industry, spreading leather value and promoting sustainable development of industry. It aims to exchange views on matters affecting the leather industry, share common problem solving solutions, help organize members to negotiate with regulators, liaise with other international organizations, exchange data and other information, and carry out studies on related matters or commissioned.

Robert introduced that the new chairman of the international tannery Commission will lead the members of the organization to continue to work together to contribute to the sustainable development of the leather industry, including promoting meat consumption, considering revising existing trade contracts, improving the quality of raw leather, and lowering barriers to trade protection.

Robert calls on all sectors of the industry to work together to overcome difficulties and study and accept challenges.