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Those in the footwear and leather goods sector know the challenges the industry has been facing for several years. Innovation, shortage of trained professionals and sustainability. These are the issues nagging the manufacturing world and the entire shoe and bag supply chain.
A roundup of previews regarding the technologies that major companies in the leather processing industry will present at Simac Tanning Tech is the main topic of this issue, which turns the spotlight on important innovations that enable tanneries to optimize processes to reduce environmental impact, automate processing steps and lower energy and chemical consumption.
We then discuss the 37th IULTCS Congress dedicated to “Innovations to make leather irreplaceable” to be held in China next October in the presence of the world’s leading experts in leather chemicals. Finally, we report an interview with Elisa Gavazza, ZDHC’s director for Southern Europe, who reports on the latest news affecting tanneries and manufacturers of leather chemicals engaged in the program aimed at zeroing chemical risk.
There is a system that seems to focus everything on “formal sustainability” and there are those who, like the Italian tannery, represent an example of “substantial sustainability.” These were the words of President Fabrizio Nuti at the last UNIC assembly, who reiterated how there are not many industries whose raw material is derived from a waste from another supply chain. Italian tanners, moreover, have gone further by putting in place “a recycling and reuse chain of their production waste in tanneries that has no equal, treating and reusing it for the cosmetics industry, the food industry, agriculture and construction. The result is a circularity rate of more than 99 percent.”
Our sector has been willing to commit itself by introducing voluntary certification methodologies for machinery. A distinctive element of Italian savoir-faire aimed at achieving those sustainable development goals of which much is spoken.
A supportive action will have to be taken on these issues that focuses on the promotion of Italian System, capable of sustaining the sector in the fierce international competition.
With this in mind, the events scheduled for next September and October 2023 will also lend themselves to become important moments of discussion and dialogue for the supply chain.
Positive outlook for the safety footwear industry. In 2023, the value of the global safety footwear market is estimated at $11.6 billion. After a slowdown related to the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for work footwear is expected to grow again globally, both on the back of industrial recovery and increasingly stringent worker protection regulations being passed just about everywhere.
SIMAC TANNING TECH 2023 in September remains the internationally recognized fair as a unique opportunity where technology and innovation, especially Italian, play an important role in the manufacturing landscape of the footwear, leather goods, tannery, automotive and furniture sectors.
The 21st UITIC 2023 congress is the historically most important international event for the industry. Technical figures from the entire manufacturing system have an opportunity to grasp new solutions to be implemented in processes.
Arsutoria School has been in existence since 1947. It does not remember this as mere show-off, but rather uses its deep knowledge of the trade and the industry to train professionals who can approach the world of footwear and leather goods design and production with a very high, and now rare, level of expertise.
The tanning industry’s transition to cleaner, circular production processes is now a given. The recovery of processing waste for the development of bio-based chemicals is the latest frontier in this path aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the tanning process. From green chemistry we move to the principles of circular chemistry with the understanding that a greener leather production environment, both in terms of reducing emissions and waste, is essential for the defense of a truly sustainable industrial system.
Many topics in this first issue of 2023. The focus is on the latest chemical tanning of automotive leathers, a sector whose balance sheet remains negative but where there are encouraging signs. Looking up higher, the last UNIC & Italian Tanneries meeting showed a two-sided 2022 economy with a very positive first half followed by a more complicated second half of the year.
Shoe enthusiasts, more creative designers, aspiring entrepreneurs or production technicians ask themselves all the time: what will be the right place to acquire the skills that can help me enter or grow in such a fascinating but very complex industry as fashion accessories? In the next few pages they will find the point of view of someone who has been training shoe fanatics for over seventy years.
Safety, today, is undoubtedly a healthy sector, as was also seen at Expoprotection 2022, the last major trade fair in the sector held last November in Paris, which attracted thousands of operators interested in discovering the latest in the sector, confirming a certain ferment in the international market.
In terms of market offerings, we must recognize that manufacturers’ efforts are increasingly directed toward the search for greater user comfort, as well as, of course, compliance with regulatory standards for different work situations. In this sense, market demand has long focused on greater lightness of the finished shoe.
By now it is clear and obvious, the world of footwear structures can no longer ignore the issues of sustainability, the constant and incremental search for new materials, whether they are of organic or recycled origin. Almost all of the innovative designs proposed for the upcoming fall winter 2023/24 have emphasized environmental friendliness.
If we look at the aesthetic themes emphasized, thick and important bottoms designed specially to accompany the new wave of boots that will undoubtedly invade future winter storefronts jump out at us.
But the theme of the height of the bottoms and their solid and massive appearance remains well anchored even in the low models, whether sneakers or loafers. Colors and graphics, a theme usually unaccustomed for the cold months, are instead making their way into the 2023s.
Beware the graphics are also going to invade the territories of elegance, which is unlikely to be expressed in minimalist tones.