Stitching New India's Growth Story

The Indian love affair with this highly versatile and useful material dates back almost five thousand years. Leather goods and products have always been used by man for many millennia as a tool of luxury, protection, comfort, utility, fashion, and warmth. Today, Leather is still regarded as a symbol of prestige and well-being.

The Rig-Veda has documented the use of Leather ‘Mashaks’ or sacks to carry water as early as 3000 B.C., this is the first documented evidence of leather in the Hindu holy scriptures.

The Leather industry in India is highly employment-focused, providing jobs to about 4.42 Mn people, with most of them under the age of 40 years. India is the 2nd largest producer of footwear, 2nd largest exporter of Leather Garments, the 5th largest exporter of Leather Goods and 3rd Largest Exporter of Saddlery and Harness items.

The Leather Industry in India accounts for around 12.9% of the world’s leather production of hides/skins and handles a robust annual production of about 3 bn. sq. ft. of leather. The country accounts for 9% of the world’s footwear production. The industry is known for its consistency in high export earnings and it is among the top ten foreign exchange earners for the country.

The Government of India is ensuring that the industry gets the push that it deserves. Initiatives to make the unorganized leather industry as a part of the mainstream industry is a prime initiative.

The Central Government has approved a special package for employment generation in the leather and footwear sector. The scheme will lead to the development of infrastructure for the leather sector, facilitation of additional investments, employment generation and an increase in production.

Foreign Direct Investment in Leather products manufacturing - 100% through automatic route is a big Government push. The efforts of the Government bore fruit as a German-based footwear brand, Von Wellx, owned by Casa Everz GmbH shifted its entire shoe production business from China into India, with an initial investment of 110 crores.

Since the original can come at a hefty price, the artificial one was manufactured to offset those costs and make the same type of material at a more affordable cost. By implementing an alternative to the real one, imitation leather has saved money for many other companies that utilize it in their products.

Synthetic materials (also known as synthetic, faux, imitation, vegan or PU leather) is a synthetic material that holds the appearance of leather but is not made from animal skin or hides like genuine leather for economic and religious reasons. The synthetic material consists of natural and/or synthetic fibres, coated with a plastic polymer or similar. Synthetic material is usually made from polyurethane (PU), polyvinylchloride (PVC) or textile-polymer composite microfibres.

The advancement in science and the ongoing need to develop substitutes for synthetic material, a new material called Reishe. This perfect imitation of leather is a work of art made from mycelium of mushrooms. This is a vegan and natural alternative to animal and synthetic leather.

If you are looking at leather shoes, accessories, garments or saddlery and harness items, India is the market to look at.