International buyers were out in force at the 18th edition of Le Cuir A Paris. The show took place February 9-12, 2010, in hall 4, Paris Nord Villepinte and hosted 224 exhibitors including 17 new companies. Leathers for the spring/summer 2011 edition were shown.

Natuzzi Group, the largest Italian company in the furniture industry and a world leader of leather sofas, announced on February 16 the opening of a new Natuzzi store in Seoul. This is the first Natuzzi’s mono-brand store in South Korea, and a step towards the 2010 retail expansion plan of Natuzzi Group.

Gulzar Firoz, chairman, Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) has appealed to the Pakistan president, prime minister and commerce minister to urgently consider bailing out the leather industry from a deepening crisis, according to a press release on February 24, from the PTA.

Effective January 1, 2010, the former Textile, Leather & Paper Chemicals division of Clariant was split into the four stand-alone operating business units which will be known as Leather Services, Textile Chemicals, Paper Specialties and Emulsions.

Tanners, Heller-Leder and Helcor-Leder-tec have announce that they have been awarded as the first German and European manufacturer to achieve gold status by the Leather Working Group (LWG). Heller-Leder are located in the town of Hehlen, approximately 70km south of Hannover.

Stahl has announced a range of six new Corilene fatliquors. They represent the latest in wet-end economy. They combine sustainability, efficiency and flawlessness to produce really soft leathers meeting current fashion needs across the leather industry and across the world. Between them they cover so many possibilities that one or more of them can nearly always be used to advantage in the production of a huge variety of leathers.

DyStar have announced that after long negotiations Kiri Dyes & Chemcials Ltd (KDCL) have finally become the new owner including the leather business unit. DyStar have confirmed that they will maintain their activities in the leather industry through its formerly acquired Boehme brands. DyStar also confirm that it is committed to continue research, application excellence, quality and ecology that are available to all its business partners worldwide.

Eleven member tanners of Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) led by their chairman, Gulzar Firoz, visited Vietnam and Indonesia between February 1-6 says a press release from the PTA.

A two-day conference headed, ‘Bio-Related Innovative Options for Tannery Application’, also known as Biotan, was the theme of the Leather Research Industry Get Together (LERIG) which took place in Chennai, January 29-30. The conference, which was hosted by the CLRI, attracted around 250 delegates to review recent biotechnology to improve leather processing by making it more environmentally friendly via cleaner processing.

China filed a complaint against European Union shoe tariffs at the World Trade Organization as Beijing continued its legal assault on what it says is unfair Western protectionism. Europe has grown increasingly concerned about China's balance of trade and what some critics view as its artificially weak currency.

Three Year 3 BA Fashion pathway students from The University of Northampton have received £1000 ($1600) of leathercraft bursaries from The Worshipful Company of Curriers.
Garry James Butterfield, BA Fashion was presented with £500 ($800) with Robyn Hedley, BA Fashion and Alex Newton, BA Fashion (Textiles for Fashion) receiving £250 ($400) each to go towards their final year collections.

The Chinese ministry of Industry and Information Technology introduced, at the end of 2009, an important policy guidance document known as ‘Guiding Options of Tanning Industry Structural Adjustment’ or Guiding Options for short. This forms part of the national governments ‘Light industry adjustment and revitalisation plan’.

DyStar’s new owner, Kiri Holding Singapore Private Limited, have appointed Manish Kiri as DyStar’s new president and chief executive officer. Effective February 4, 2010 Manish Kiri will replace J Mark Allan.

Operations at DyStar Textilfarben GmbH and DyStar Textilfarben GmbH & Co. KG at the four German DyStar sites in Brunsbüttel, Leverkusen, Frankfurt am Main and Ludwigshafen are now set to restart under the new management of Kiri Dyes & Chemicals Ltd. (KDCL). The deal does not include DyStar’s leather chemical activities or the manufacturing site at Gerestried.

Since the American Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) introduced the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August 2008, there have been a number of changes to the limits of lead allowed in certain products, and to the testing required in order to show compliance.

The second day of the India International Leather Fair (IILF) held in Chennai, India was just as busy as the first day on February 2. Crowds flocked to a hot and sultry Chennai Trade Centre to visit companies supplying the tanning and finished leather products industries.

Stahl have recently issued a new style fashion booklet ‘Leather Preview Spring-Summer 2011’. Working in close collaboration with the company’s new fashion consultants, Bianco & White, this new presentation follows a similar innovative style to that of the recent ‘Colour Forecast’ booklet. Crisp clean images combine with an impressive selection of real leather samples to present the latest global trends in leather finishing in a way which will inspire and encourage the reader towards the creation of new ideas in leather.

The latest edition of leather chemical maker TFL part 2 of their ECO Guidelines has been published in order to enhance the understanding of ecological aspects in leather manufacturing.