All articles by Venugopal Immadi
Venugopal Immadi
Always be prepared
The impact of the coronavirus has been felt globally, and across all sectors, with leather being no exception. With a stuttered recovery having only just begun before the pandemic hit, prices have tumbled back again and the future looks uncertain. Matthew Rogerson talks with Stephen Sothmann, president of the Leather and Hide Council of America, to hear more about the state of the industry and thoughts on what impact Covid-19 is having on the sector.
Pillars of society
In the first part of our discussion with Stahl on its latest ESG report and developments that appeared in the last issue, we focused on responsible chemistry. In this, the concluding part, we take a look at key pillars and takeaways from the report and how they overlap. Answering Matthew Rogerson’s questions is group director for ESG Michael Costello.
Some distance to go
There is no new normal yet, but tough choices are being made across the entire sector as governments and industry discuss the next phase of the pandemic. Sam Setter’s Limeblast looks at the actions defining the sector’s future and whether fashion is still on people’s minds.
Identity Crisis
Leather International presents edited extracts from ‘False positives II – chlorophenols identification towards hplcdad-Ms analysis compared to ISO 17070:2015 technique’ by Gustavo Adrián Defeo, Miria Borgheresi, Dr Manila De Cicco and Dr Bianca Carpignani of the Ars Tinctoria Analytical laboratory in Italy.
View from the US by Vera Dordick
From the hide market perspective, the resulting disappearance of demand drove hide prices down further. In the US market, however, sliding prices came to a halt when slaughter dramatically dropped. The record low harvest numbers were caused by Covid-19 infections spreading quickly through meatpacking plants, which had to close in order to clean facilities and test workers. With the nation’s food supply at risk and possible meat shortages on the horizon, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing plants to stay open. Some plants, however, still needed to pause because of absenteeism among fearful workers. The big dip in the supply of hides extended packer forward-sold positions and allowed sellers to decline low bids.
Easy as ESG
At the end of March, Stahl released its 2019 report on ‘Environment, Social & Governance’ (ESG). As the report underlines Stahl’s commitment to driving sustainability and corporate responsibility across the industry, Matthew Rogerson sits down (virtually) with Michael Costello, group director ESG, and Ingrid Weijer, ESG manager, to learn more about the report and its key developments.
Make the Call
At a sombre time for the industry, Sam Setter takes stock in his latest Limeblast and examines the path forward for the industry, but that’s not to say he isn’t prepared to once again take on false information elsewhere.
Hair and hide
Hair and hide Leather International presents edited extracts from ‘Fine hair on American bovine leathers’ by Dr Luis Zugno and Andreas Rhein, which provides an evaluation of the fine hair on bovine hides, wet-blue and finished leathers through cross sections and stains, and optical and electron microscope observations. This includes insight on the fine hair seasonality, types of breeds, and cattle displacement temperature ranges and discussion of adaptive changes needed in the ‘winter’ to control the fine hair.
View from the US
The global Covid-19 pandemic took hold in many countries during the month of March and resulted in nations going under lockdown with all but essential industry operations suspended. From the hide market perspective, the unprecedented situation struck a hard blow at a sector that had just started to recover from a long run of declining prices and diminished demand.
A problem of perception
Leather remains in demand, despite fashion trends, negative media commentary and new alternative materials. Andrea Guolo reports from Micam and Mipel in Milan, and looks at how leather can compete in the sustainable markets of the future.