Economic Sustainability Analysis of Natural Leather Industry, and Its Alternative Advancements
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Michigan Technological University Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports 2021 Economic Sustainability Analysis of Natural Leather Industry, And Its Alternative Advancements Yogesh Kumar Satish Kumar Michigan Technological University, [email protected] Copyright 2021 Yogesh Kumar Satish Kumar Recommended Citation Satish Kumar, Yogesh Kumar, "Economic Sustainability Analysis of Natural Leather Industry, And Its Alternative Advancements", Open Access Master's Report, Michigan Technological University, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37099/mtu.dc.etdr/1203 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etdr ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY ANALYSIS OF NATURAL LEATHER INDUSTRY, AND ITS ALTERNATIVE ADVANCEMENTS By Yogesh Kumar Satish Kumar A REPORT Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE In Mechanical Engineering MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2021 © 2021 Yogesh Kumar Satish Kumar This report has been approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Mechanical Engineering. Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics Report Advisor: Dr. Chang Kyoung Choi Committee Member: Dr. Trisha Sain Committee Member: Dr. Sangyoon Han Department Chair: Dr. William W. Predebon ii Table of Contents List of figures ...............................................................................................................................v List of tables...................................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... vii List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. viii Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................ix 1. Leather - An Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 1.1 History of leather .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Leather cross section: ................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Types of natural leather: ............................................................................................... 3 1.4 Manufacturing process: ................................................................................................ 5 1.5 Pros and cons of real leather: ........................................................................................ 9 2. Tanning Industry and environmental regulations: ................................................................. 10 2.1 Global Leather production: .............................................................................................. 10 2.2 Tanneries in US: .............................................................................................................. 12 2.3 Factors affected by tanneries: .......................................................................................... 14 2.3.1 Employee health factor: ................................................................................................ 15 2.3.2 Public health: ................................................................................................................ 16 2.3.3 Chemicals in effluents: ................................................................................................. 17 2.3.4 Air Emissions: .............................................................................................................. 19 2.3.5 Animal health and wildlife: .......................................................................................... 19 2.4 Environmental regulations involving leather industry: ................................................... 22 2.5 Effects of these regulations: ............................................................................................ 29 3. Natural leather Industry Trend Analysis: .............................................................................. 32 3.1 Red Meat Consumption Per capita: ................................................................................. 32 3.2 Annual Revenue trend of leather industry: ...................................................................... 34 3.3 Interpretation: .................................................................................................................. 35 3.4 Alternative ways attempted to achieve revenue target: ................................................... 36 3.4.1 Export of leather hides / skin: ....................................................................................... 36 3.4.2 Importing Leather Products into US: ............................................................................ 37 iii 3.5 Reason for the decline in export and import revenue: ..................................................... 38 4. Synthetic Leather – an overview ........................................................................................... 40 4.1 Introduction: ................................................................................................................... 40 4.2 History: ............................................................................................................................ 40 4.3 Types of synthetic leather: ............................................................................................... 41 4.4 Manufacturing process: ................................................................................................... 42 4.5 Pros and cons of synthetic leather: .................................................................................. 45 5. Future Trends in leather industry: ......................................................................................... 46 5.1 Biotechnological trends in natural leather industry: ....................................................... 46 5.2 Synthetic leather: ............................................................................................................ 49 6. Conclusion:............................................................................................................................ 53 7. References: ............................................................................................................................ 54 iv List of figures Figure 1. Cross section of leather………………………………………………………………..2 Figure 2. Manufacturing cycle of natural leather from animal skin……………………………..6 Figure 3. Major leather producing countries in the world……………………………………...12 Figure 4. List of leather facilities in US………………………………………………………..13 Figure 5. List of chemicals that are offered and released in the hide processing………………17 Figure 6. Average amount of red meat availability for consumption per capita per year in US….32 Figure 7. Average amount of poultry availability for consumption per capita per year in US…33 Figure 8. U.S. leather industry annual trend data……………………………………………….34 Figure 9. Leather export revenue data in United States…………………………………………36 Figure 10. Import revenue in United States………………………………………………………37 Figure 11. Customer confidence index chart data……………………………………………….40 Figure 12. Cross sectional view of synthetic leather………………………………………….....44 Figure 13. Manufacturing process of plastic based synthetic leather…………………………….45 v List of tables Table 1 - List of leather tanning and finishing companies in United States……………………..14 Table 2 - Processes and chemicals used in leather production…………………………………..16 Table 3 - list of pollutants involved in the leather processing……………………………………18 Table 4 - Ranges of Estimated Minimum and Maximum Cr, Pb and Cd Concentrations in Liver, Gizzard, Meat and Skin of Three Types of Chicken (mg/kg) Fed with Contaminated Feed……20 Table 5 - Minimum and Maximum Average Daily Exposure Value per kg/day Due to Ingestion of Contaminated Poultry……………………………………………………………………………21 Table 6 - Health benefits of the Clean Air Act programs that reduce levels of fine particles and ozone……………………………………………………………………………………………..29 Table 7 - List of biotechnologies that might have the potential for success in leather processing………………………………………………………………………………………..48 vi Acknowledgement My profound gratitude to my advisor Dr. Chang Kyoung Choi, for his assistance and advice in the last year. I am grateful for this opportunity and for his commitment on helping me finish my report on time. I would also like to express my acknowledgement to the committee members, Dr. Trisha Sain and Dr. Sangyoon Han for serving on my committee. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family who have always been supportive and filled me with encouragement during my challenging time in Michigan Tech. vii List of Abbreviations: IARC - International Agency for Research on Cancer NGO - Non-Governmental Organization CCL - Contaminant Candidate List BOD – Biological oxygen demand COD – Chemical Oxygen Demand VOC - Volatile Organic Compounds SCW – Skin Cut Wastes CAA - Clean Air Act SIP - State Implementation Plan EPA – Environmental Protection Agency CWA – Clean Water Act CERCLA - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, And Liability Act NPL - National Priority