10th year of ACLE and still going strong

Business as usual was mixed. With such a wide range of products on show, from the raw materials and chemicals, through machinery and finished leather, to the finished goods provided at the China International Footwear Fair and Moda Shanghai in adjoining halls, it could not be otherwise.&rtreturn;There were 1,193 exhibitors across all three events from 37 countries and regions and these included 23 group pavilions. There was also a programme of special events including an afternoon seminar on Environment Friendly Supplies which was put on by ASSINTECAL, the Brazilian association for companies of components for leather, footwear and related goods, in partnership with the CLIA.&rtreturn;CLIA honorary chairman, Xu Yong told those attending that China was taking a very serious view of pollution and that new environmental regulations would come into force on October 1. He said that the government favoured the idea of gathering tanneries together into clusters to allow central control of wastewater treatment etc. The five-year plan requires the reduction of in energy consumption of 20% and a reduction in pollution of 10% per unit of GDP.