The UK leather industry has an annual turnover of around $320 million within an annual trade in finished leather of $18.4 billion. It employs 1,100 people.

The UKLF has identified strategic issues for the UK industry which are as follows:

  • Research & development
  • Environment
  • Brand
  • Carbon footprint and sustainability
  • UK raw materials (hides and skins)
  • Education and people

The strategy aims to attract new recruits to join the leather industry and learn skills through work placed training and courses supplied by the newly created Institute of Creative Leather Technologies (ICLT), part of the University of Northampton.

Baroness Falkner of Margravine, Chancellor of The University of Northampton and Reg Hankey, Managing Director, Pittards addressed the audience at the strategy launch expressing the need for the UK industry to add value to the UK’s large resource of hides and skins and use some of the world-class education and research centres in the UK to provide innovation in the future.