International Leather Maker

In 1995, I sat with colleagues watching the end of a golf competition on TV on a cold Autumn Sunday in New England. It looked like Tiger Woods would win. Our employer, Acushnet, was his main sponsor and supplied him with balls, clubs, gloves and shoes from their two main brands, Titleist and FootJoy. We […]

As an industry, we routinely talk about livestock, water and urbanisation, but rarely at the same time. Each has a big impact on the leather industry in quite different ways. Three months of heavy rain in the UK have shown how these areas interweave and should no longer be considered in isolation. Water I have […]

The holiday period is widely celebrated around the world, far beyond those who maintain the Christian faith, and is a time when religious and political leaders send out carefully crafted messages that are supposedly wise and inspirational. Over the last few days, these have almost universally aimed at seeking peace and greater tolerance in the […]

Have you ever thought of renting a pop-up shop for a month to promote leather? These short-term rentals excite visitors to the high street or other clever spots where they are to be found and offer amazing opportunities for companies to promote their activities in creative ways at low risk. We have been seeing comments […]

Doing things “at pace” has become a phrase used in politics this year to the point of boredom. Often, it’s trying to explain why a government is moving very slowly. But, for the British leather industry, the misery has indeed come at pace, first with the loss of tanner Pittards in the summer when a […]

King Charles III opened COP28 in Dubai last week by saying that it is vital that innovation is accelerated and green alternatives such as renewable energy are deployed across all industries. He also asked the audience: “How can we accelerate innovation and the deployment of renewable energy, of clean technology and other green alternatives, to […]

One of my most enjoyable duties over the past two decades has been as a Trustee of the Leather Conservation Centre. It is a charity based in the English Midlands and dedicated to improving the science and skills of caring for historic objects made of leather. The centre’s work involves research, education and utilising best […]

Filling in the risk management pages on an annual budget used to be an automated process. Areas such as currency risks, a major customer bankruptcy or the implications of a chemical being restricted for unexpected environmental reasons might be included. However, as the last three years have shown, unexpected events are cropping up at an […]

Over the last few years, the luxury market has been increasingly important to the leather industry. But, like leather, luxury is a term constantly modified by a wide range of adjectives, most of which are meaningless and often misleading. Throughout history, a luxury item was thought of as exquisite and exclusive, made valuable by the […]

Elon Musk must think only in terms of metal and plastic. It is as if he totally misunderstands the existence of natural things. “One of the challenges in the future will be how we find meaning in life if you have a magic genie who can do anything you want,” he told British Prime Minister […]