• THE NEXT STEPS • ENGAGE YOUNG CONSUMERS • LEATHER VS SYNTHETICS A leather international publication In association with TFL Eco Solutions Leading technologies for the environment www.tfl.com In association with Contents Cover image: Natural leathers. Courtesy of • THE NEXT STEPS Issue 1 Zenda Leather • ENGAGE YOUNG CONSUMERS • LEATHER VS SYNTHETICS ADVISOR Advisor Michael Redwood [email protected] EDITORIAL Editor Martin Ricker Tel: +44 (0) 20 8269 7787 [email protected] Editorial contributors Michael Redwood Andy Seawood Dietrich Tegtmeyer Richard Smith Juan Diego Casaretto Martin Ricker A leather international publication SALES In association with Sales manager Jeremy Skinner Tel: +44 (0) 20 7936 6943 [email protected] PRODUCTION AND DESIGN Designer Karen Townsend Production Lisa Busby West +44 (0)208 269 7927 [email protected] Mission Statement To establish and enhance leather as an affordable premium material in the mind of consumers. To identify leather in terms of quality, luxury, performance and value for money – the purchase of an asset rather than a disposable item. To position leather as a durable and sustainable material that is a good material to use from 08 12 an environmental point of view. To support all those making and using leather. To provide guidelines and support material to present leather as a premium quality and sustainable material. 04 Introduction 06 The next steps To assist the industry in avoiding leather becoming seen Michael Redwood, Advisor to Dr Dietrich Tegtmeyer of Lanxess as a commodity material or having its brand values debased by the use of incorrect claims or poor Leather Naturally! says that as the outlines the next steps for the environmental standards. campaign gathers momentum it is campaign and poses some Online and social media becoming a movement within the important questions that have to Further details can be found at leather supply chain. be considered. www.leathernaturally.org and can be followed on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. 08 Leather needs a voice 10 Oxymorons Andy Seaward looks at what Richard Smith of fair organsiers Leather Naturally! should aim to APLF discusses how genuine achieve from the perspective of an leather should be promoted © Global Trade Media Ltd 2010 Global Trade Media 2010. All rights reserved. No part of international brand. compared with synthetic materials. this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent 12 The next generation 14 What leather do we want? of the publisher. The contents of Leather International are subject to reproduction in information storage and Juan Diego Casaretto of Zenda Martin Ricker of Leather retrieval systems. Leather North America says that International magazine asks what The paper used in this magazine is obtained from there is a need to engage and kind of leather should the industry manufacturers who operate within internationally recognised standards. The paper is made from Elementary promote leather to the younger ben making and how can we Chlorine Free (ECF) pulp, which is sourced from generation. promote natural leather to the sustainable, properly managed forestation. consumer. Winter 2010/11 www.leathernaturally.org | LEATHER NATURALLY! 3 In association with Leather Naturally! | Introduction Leather Naturally! A movement Michael Redwood is Visiting Professor in Business Development in Leather, University of Northampton and Teaching Fellow, Marketing, University of Bath Michael Redwood, movement. A grass roots movement. That is perhaps textiles and high quality plastics have become really good – and the best description of Leather Naturally! In a way it have top-notch promotion. Ahas been bubbling for some decades. When Guy Reaks In all this jungle of conversation where has the leather was deeply involved in the International Council of Tanners he industry been? Sadly we have been silent. An old rule says it is used to turn up at major meetings and pull out a pair of ladies dangerous to engage in battle unless you are sure to win. Up tights to demonstrate a product where the makers had until now the leather industry has not had the solidarity among developed something that responded to consumer needs, which its stakeholders to see such a programme through. But now it did the job they were sold for perfectly, and were very perfectly seems to be different. marketed. From every continent and every sector and every part of the Why, he would argue, can other industries escape from supply chain Leather Naturally! has received support. There is being product obsessed while the leather industry remains in the will, there is the determination to redress the balance and its shell and fails to promote the features and benefits that are promote the one thing that ensures success. Our invaluable so important to such a wide range of consumers? Why can product. Leather. Leather Naturally! industries as varied as milk and wool successfully build Because Leather Naturally! has come from a groundswell it reputations for their products that resonate with customers and has moved quite far before the traditional industry keep their articles top of mind? organisations have become involved. Also support has come The answer was, of course, that we were too fragmented to from meat packers, global brands, trade fairs and chemical grapple a common issue. Protecting our patch by hunkering companies who do not fit within the current leather industry down was the strategy adopted. You could not say it was a structure. And if one suggestion for a payment structure based temporary tactic: it was the fundamental philosophy of whole on one or two cents a hide is generally adopted a lot of money swathes of the leather industry for decades. We need to protect is involved so the industry is nervous that this will be our corner; we do not have time or money to promote or even mishandled. defend the material that gives us our living. Discussions on structure and finance look likely to take But times have changed. We have come to live with a new another six months while all parties get comfortable. At the geographical order and we talk more of luxury and fashion moment the strongest support is for a full service international markets than we do of just sheepskin clothing leather or advertising agency to be hired and to report to one or two key vegetable tanned bellies. At last the industry has found a individuals working within or in conjunction with the common cause. International Council of Tanners. But these are early days. This is why Leather Naturally! has come from the grass Getting up to date market research data to identify attitudes, roots, from comments and feelings arising during meetings, the language to use, and the weak links in the purchase cycle is seminars and trade shows. Industry members at all levels also important. Most of all at this stage the idea is for Leather realised that we were watching how designers, brands, Naturally! to be as inclusive as possible. No one currently retailers and consumers use our products. In business parlance involved is seeking work or employment from the campaign; we have become much more market oriented, and in doing so activity to date has all been self-financed and voluntary. No have realised that we have a common cause. organisation has been given exclusive rights in any way and Yet our discussions with users have been bittersweet. ideas and suggestions for the way forward continue to be Consumers have a natural affinity with leather; understand it to sought. What does seem clear is that there exists enough be a versatile, beautiful, natural material. But some fashion committed support for a programme of activity to start in the schools will not teach leather as a material. Staff are concerned second half of 2011. Precise funding will decide its scale and about meat eating and what they have heard about processing nature. leather. Young people – our next generation of consumers – Leather Naturally! is not just another ‘initiative’; it is a have been brought up as city folk and do not have their parent’s movement. Leather is not just another commodity; it is a inborn understanding for natural materials. And technical unique, sustainable, versatile material. 4 LEATHER NATURALLY! | www.leathernaturally.org Winter 2010/11 Ensuring a healthy future. SAFETAN A NEW RANGE OF SAFE RETANNING SPECIALTIES Do you want to produce top quality leather that meets all applicable requirements and restrictions? Are you interested in reducing the risk of rejections of final luxury leather articles? Does your customer or market demand products without formaldehyde or Restricted Substance Lists-chemicals? Smit & Zoon introduces SAFETAN, a group of innovative, high quality and safe retanning specialties. These products exceed the latest standards concerning free monomers – such as formaldehyde, phenol – and all restricted substance chemicals. Use SAFETAN for a healthy future: for both the tanner as the end user. Please visit www.smitzoon.nl or get in touch with your usual contact for further information. In association with Leather Naturally! | The next steps Leather Naturally! the next steps Written by Dr Dietrich Tegtmeyer, Vice President, product development and application, Leather Business Unit, Lanxess Dr Dietrich Tegtmeyer lobal trends, such as increased urbanisation, where as genuine leather and what is a synthetic ‘non-leather’ more and more people will relocate and live in cities and substrate? This sounds easy and is an easy answer for grain G urban areas, in my view, will automatically lead to a leather, but what is our position, when it comes to split leather, higher consumption of many consumer goods including articles leather board based on recycled shavings, heavy coated leather, made from leather.