Winds of change

The campaign up to now has been spearheaded by Mike Redwood who has committed his considerable cerebral energies into pushing for a globally co-ordinated campaign to promote leather as a material but also to defend leather against its critics as well as competing materials.
Quite frankly, if you are reading this article you are in the leather business and Leather Naturally! is and should be of interest to you.
When you think about it who defends leather against the Greenpeace’s and Peta’s of this world? Who defends the word ‘leather’ from being used by faux and synthetic substitutes who trade off the use of the word? And who is there to coordinate on a global level work relating to the training and education of designers, stylists and the consumer? A well funded Leather Naturally! campaign has the scope to do all these things and more.
I can report that a small yet significant number of those that attended the Shanghai event are willing to become stakeholders and many more tanners, suppliers, international brands and raw material suppliers have expressed an interest in the campaign and are seeking to know more. Momentum is building. At a press conference held during the ACLE in Shanghai, both the CLIA and the ICT said that they would be willing to support the campaign. To be honest without the support of the Chinese, Brazilian and Indian industries, the job of this campaign would be more difficult. More information relating to the Leather Naturally! dinner and official launch can be seen on page 12.
The ACLE this year was back to its best following two quieter editions caused by the global economic crisis. However, there was a great deal of nervousness and uncertainty from a number of tanners at the show. Many think that they are becoming a filling in a corporate sandwich with the hide and skin suppliers on one side and the brands on the other. One side is constantly trying to raise prices while on the other the brands are not willing to pay extra for their leather. It seems that it’s the tanners’ margins that are under pressure.
The feeling of uneasiness was not just related to prices but also to what is happening to consumer confidence in many economies, especially in Europe and North America. If consumer confidence evaporates then the good sales that many leading brands enjoyed in the past year could quickly ebb away.
Only time will tell if the uneasiness discussed by some in Shanghai will come to fruition or whether consumers in China, India, Brazil and other more buoyant markets will keep the ship afloat.

Martin Ricker  Editor
mricker@leathermag.com