For good or for bad, chromium remains the tannage we all have to work with: its properties and performance have, as yet, been unmatched by any single tanning agent. Yet it is not the only effluent concern tanners face. Graham Lampard reports on the green issues.

The manufacture of leather requires the consumption of large quantities of water and the subsequent treatment of effluent generated. The French Tanning Federation has placed a lot of emphasis on companies' consumption of water. In addition, CTC has launched a large-scale project with the aim of better controlling waste water from the leather production chain.

The Technological Institute for Footwear and Related Industries (INESCOP), together with the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), are cooperating in a LIFE-Third countries project entitled ‘Demonstration of Clean Technologies in the Tanning Process' (Ecotan). Within the framework of this project, an analysis of Egyptian tanneries environmental situation has been carried out. The results are summarised in the following article.

As the world is looking to China to improve its environmental impact, a 100% German owned tannery in Guangzhou, China, has taken up the challenge. ISA Tan Tec have developed the LITE Leather branded product line to help ‘the world environment while producing high performance leather products with Low Impact To the Environment'

During the recent ACLE in Shanghai, an afternoon seminar on Environment Friendly Supplies was put on by ASSINTECAL, the Brazilian association for companies of components for leather, footwear and related goods, in partnership with the CLIA.

According to a recent edition of the journal Chemistry & Industry, scientists at the CLRI in India report that they have developed a new tanning technology that makes the process substantially more eco-friendly. Tanning as we know can produce high levels of water pollution.

During the recent ACLE, the China Leather Industry Association co-organised a seminar with the Brazil leather, shoes and leather product and component association (ASSINTECAL) on the topic of environmental protection.

According to Industry sources, the European Union, USA, Japan and other countries have again asked both the government of Pakistan and industrialists to adopt urgent measures for setting up effluent treatment plants to cover all the five industrial areas of Karachi. At the same time, they warned that failure to do so could find non-compliant factories losing export orders.