- Join Our Exclusive Weekly Newsletter
- Posts
- This Week's News from the Global Leather & Footwear Industry
This Week's News from the Global Leather & Footwear Industry
Arshad Leathernews.org
August 10, 2025
Good morning & welcome to our weekly newsletter. Here, we bring you the entire week's news, insights, market research, analysis, expert insights & facts from the global "leather & footwear" industry.
In a simplified and easy-to-understand manner, saving you time while keeping you informed & updated under 5 minutes every Sunday at 11am.
In case you missed it, here’s a look at what happened in the Global Leather, Footwear & Leather Goods Industry last week.
LEATHER INDUSTRY NEWS
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met Indian leather and footwear exporters in New Delhi to address concerns over new United States tariffs. Exporters sought incentives, interest relief and diplomatic efforts to secure exemptions for affected goods.
“Held a meeting with stakeholders from the Leather & Footwear sector to discuss strategies for accelerating growth and unlocking greater export potential”
The United States has announced a new 25% tariff on Indian imports making it 50% now following failed US Russia peace talks over the Ukraine war. India condemned the move as unfair and vowed to take necessary steps to protect its interests.
Bangladesh began the 2025–26 financial year with exports worth 4.77 billion United States dollars in July, up 24.9% year-on-year, driven by pre-tariff shipments to the United States and strong performance from the leather and leather goods sector.
A potential 30% tariff on South African ostrich leather imports to the United States threatens Texas cowboy boot makers reliant on Oudtshoorn suppliers, raising concerns over costs, supply chains, and economic impacts on the Klein Karoo farming community.
FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY NEWS
A Texas workshop making cowboy boots from South African ostrich leather faces uncertainty as new 30% tariffs take effect. Industry leaders warn the move could hurt American jobs, South African ranchers, and the global ostrich leather trade.
“We can’t raise ostriches here in the United States to the level to the quality. We don’t have the meat demand here. We need to partner with countries that can do that”
Uttar Pradesh is finalizing its Footwear, Leather and Non-Leather Sector Development Policy 2025, aiming to boost cluster-based growth, attract large investments, modernize factories, create 2.2 million jobs, and strengthen its position as a global leather and footwear manufacturing hub.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Did Not Expect this from a Leather Chemical Lab in Ranipet... Felt like I Walked into a European lab
2 weeks ago, I got invited to visit the Smit & Zoon's Lab in Ranipet.
And honestly... I didn’t expect what I saw.
The entire place was modern, clean & nothing like the typical image of a leather chemical lab.
Even the wet end floor with more than 10 drums was so neat & clean.
It really felt like I was standing inside a lab somewhere in Europe haha.
But there’s one floor I won’t forget
I think it was their design studio (I hope I am naming it right).
That floor had a whole story behind it.
There was this beautiful conference table and other office tables made from a fallen tree during the 2015 Vardha cyclone in Chennai.
The entire log with branches & all was kept intact & turned into a table.
It was dedicated to one of Smit & Zoon’s team members who’s no longer with us. We were told why it’s named after him and it was honestly quite touching.
I also got to understand how they do fashion forecasting from step 1 to the final output.
Mr. Ravi walked us through the whole process & it was nice to know they have even hired designers from institutes like FDDI.
And then came the cafeteria floor, filled with plants & open space.
Arun sir told me how he reuses the same tables & setups from their IILF (India International Leather Fair) booth every year.
After the fair, it all comes back to the lab & gets reused again.
I walked out of the lab feeling inspired & honestly kind of proud.
Thank you Arun Janakiram sir for inviting me and Ravi kumar Vanguri for taking the time to show me around.
I am really glad I got to see it all firsthand.
If you ever get a chance to visit please do it.
I am sure you will walk in curious… & walk out with a lot more.
Thanks for checking out our newsletter today
If you found something useful, please consider sharing it with others who might benefit from it.
Written & Published by Arshad | Leathernews.org
Follow Arshad on LinkedIn
Reply