Moving towards Sustainable and Fast Leather Prepared for The Hong - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Moving towards Sustainable and Fast Leather

Prepared for The Hong Kong Fashion Summit

The players in the industry

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• Meatpackers:

harvest meat, hides a by product.

• Tanners:

convert raw hides into leather.

• Brands and factories:

convert leather into articles from handbags, belts to car seats.

Why sustainability and fast leathers…?

Eliminating salt from the leather supply chain

Drivers for change

Brands and customers recognising sustainability

– 100% Traceability (positive list of countries). – Deforestation, animal welfare. – Sustainability reporting within financial statements (PUMA, Marks & Spencers). – Many industry and government organisations.

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Needs

Solutions that are:

– Greener. – Not more expensive. – Accountable. – Improves current supply chain. – Benefits all parties in the supply chain.

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Previous efforts have focused on the tanners, being the heavy users of chemicals….

Eliminating salt from the leather supply chain

Potential solutions at tanners

• Recycling protocols.
• Hair collection equipment.
• Chrome free tanning.
• New dyes – organic and biodegradable.
• Waste and water management processes.
• Energy management systems.

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However, these solutions only apply to tanners….

Eliminating salt from the leather supply chain

A current problem at source….

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• 90% of the world’s annual 311M bovine hides

are preserved with salt

• Average 20lbs of salt used per hide
• Salt used in preservation is 60% of the TDS

for a typical tanner

• Salinity becoming a key issue in locations

producing hides and receiving hides for leather making

• India has banned salt in hide

preservation – Tamil Nadur aquifer has salt creep

• China not issuing new beam house

(water works) licenses….

• Salted hides will continue to deteriorate
• Can carry diseases, is pungent and dirty often

with cow dung….

Salt used in preservation affects the whole supply chain

Eliminating salt from the leather supply chain

A new solution - Litehide™

Litehide™ pieces on a pallet (unwrapped) Litehide™ packed for transport next to traditional salted hides

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Benefits for all parties

Meat packers:

• Elimination of salt issues.
• Potential harvest of collagen, additional income.
• Waste reduction and storage benefits.

Tanners:

• Elimination of salt issues.
• Transport savings, carbon emission credits.
• Moving towards just in time manufacturing.
• Inventory reduction, raw material storage versus finished leather

inventory. Brands:

• Sustainable leather.
• Fast leather potential.
• Traceability.
• CSR adherence.

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Potential cost savings

• Many times more Litehide™ in the same

container compared to salted hides.

Lower transportation costs

• Litehide™ does not spoil during transportation

and can be stored indefinitely.

Non-perishable

• Litehide™ allows for grain verification at source

for pre-grading.

Pre-selection

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SCM

• Can shorten shipping cycle by 8 weeks

eliminating wait for hide shipment.

• Long shelf life.
• Enabling JIT production.
• Neutral cure – flexible tannage.
• Inventory cost reduction for tannery.

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Summary

• Solutions for change has to be multi-faceted

addressing diverse groups of stakeholders.

• Sustainability can be united with improved

economics.

• Consumers want value for money, sustainable,

differentiating and on demand good.

11 Eliminating salt from the leather supply chain