International Leather Maker

I first went to India in the 1980s to do a project with the Tata Group in Dewas, a small town close to Madhya Pradesh, hidden away in the centre of this huge country. The ambition of Tata Leather was palpable and well-founded based on everything I saw: the scale of the operation, the quality […]

The need to invest is relentless, hence we return to it frequently. No business can afford to let itself slip back in a competitive world, yet it is mentally and financially draining to invest in the face of market uncertainty and depleted cash reserves after the never-ending sequence of unexpected demands starting with Covid, then […]

The transition to net-zero inevitably involves finding a renewable solution for electricity and heating. Tanneries usually have good local opportunities to use roofing and adjacent land for solar, wind and varying types of ground source or geothermal energy, plus solid wastes can be used to produce gas. Knowing this, encouraging tanneries to move quickly is […]

A footwear designer friend of mine, who lives in Denmark, posted an item on social media. She said it explained why she much preferred wearing natural fibres like cotton, wool and linen to some of the newer fabrics, which are supposedly so good. The article was about fabrics made from bamboo. As a plant, it […]

A few days ago, Leather UK, which has been the UK leather industry trade organisation for the last century or more, held a dinner in London. I was delighted to be invited and was particularly thankful to my local tanners for driving me to the event when a rail strike would otherwise have stopped me […]

If you do not live in the UK, you might not have noticed that we have had a Coronation and we now have King Charles III and Queen Camilla. If it sounds antiquated, that is because it is. The major element that involves the leather industry is the glove that is placed on one hand […]

In the last couple of years, the British Government has had a number of complaints about its managerial style. It’s not surprising as few British politicians have any meaningful managerial experience. The new First Minister of Scotland, who went to the same school as I, apparently did one year working in a call centre before […]

Making promises that will knowingly not be kept, rewriting history for ideological purposes and turning the fabric of everyday wellbeing – food and fuel for example – into weapons of war have become commonplace. By comparison, the leather industry cannot hide the truths of history. They are written in large letters within the hundreds of […]

The last couple of weeks have been a story of footwear. Former basketball player Michael Jordan’s “Bred” Air Jordans, worn during Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals, sold for a record US$2.2 million at a Sotheby’s Auction. At the other end of the scale, if you follow Lyst’s hotlists, you will know that in […]

The migration of sportswear into everyday casual clothing took place some decades ago, when Nike and Reebok dominated the global market in fierce competition. Since then, outdoor activities have greatly increased and clothing from Patagonia and The North Face has started to be seen on the streets. Approach footwear, designed to get you to the […]