The history of leather. - Everybody know that?


One: The history of leather

 

More than 5,000 years ago, people began to use leather to protect against wind and cold, and then used leather as a noble gift. By the Zhou Dynasty (more than 1,000 BC), people had initially mastered the technology of leather making and fur making in long-term practice, forming the primitive leather industry. In the mid-19th century, the discovery and application of chrome leather softening method greatly accelerated the development of leather industry. In the early 20th century, with the successful development of various tanning chemicals, the tanning industry has been rapidly developed, and many countries have gradually formed a larger tanning industrial system, the leather industry from the original pure manual operation transition to semi-mechanized and mechanized production.

 

Two: leather classification and processing technology:

 

1. Natural leather. 2. Synthetic leather. 3. Textile materials)

 

Leather is generally divided into: 1. Natural leather. 2. Synthetic leather. 3. Textile materials

 

1, artificial leather is divided into artificial foam leather and synthetic leather,

 

(1), artificial bubble mainly JuAnYiXi leather, wool, poly (amino resin as coating, such as cloth as the base, characteristic is airtight, mainly used in the manufacture of handbags, belts, etc.,

 

②, synthetic leather surface is mainly polyurethane, base material is polyester, cotton, polypropylene and other synthetic fibers made of non-woven fabric, has a certain air permeability, is characterized by beautiful luster, not easy to mold and moth.

 

(1) synthetic leather.

 

Smooth surface, through the thickness, color, strength is equal, waterproof, acid and alkali resistance, microbial better than natural skin. But not resistant to high temperature, high cold, easy to aging.

 

(2) artificial leather.

 

The base is made of plain cloth, canvas, rat cloth, recycled cloth, fiber knitted cloth, etc., and then finished with different finishing materials.

 

Commonly used are: PVC artificial leather, PVC foam leather, etc

 

(3) Textile materials.

 

There are fine canvas, cotton - woven cloth, Velen cloth, plain cloth, imitation cashmere, etc.

 

2, animal leather is a kind of natural leather, that is, we often say derma. It is made of animal (raw skin) after a series of physical and chemical processing into a fixed, durable material, it has soft, tough, water is not easy to deformation, dry is not easy to shrink, heat resistance, chemical resistance and other properties, with good air permeability and anti-aging and other special advantages.

 

The processing process of animal leather is very complicated, and dozens of processes are needed to make the finished leather: Raw hides, flooding, fleshing, degreasing, hair removal - alkali leaching - inflation - deliming, softening, pickling, tanning, split, shaving, retanning, neutralizing, dyeing gas filling -- -- -- -- -- -- - finishing - finishing - drying - Finished leather.

 

Animal leather types are also very many, according to the material is generally common sheep leather, cow leather, horse leather, snake leather, pig leather crocodile leather, according to the performance can be divided into two layers of leather, full grain leather, suede leather, modified leather, film leather, composite leather, coated layer leather.

 

Two layer leather refers to the grinding leather in leather processing by chemical and physical pressing. This kind of leather is hard, easy to break, not enough extension.

 

Full-grain leather: Leather that retains and uses the original surface of animal skin (the growing or scaly side), called front leather. Full grain surface without coating less direct use, most of them are decorated after beautification, such as embossing, etc., full grain leather raw material requirements of high grade raw material leather, and processing requirements are high, belongs to high-grade leather, and the surface of the leather is completely retained in the skin and, its firm performance is good, full grain leather surface without coating or coating and very thin, It maintains the soft elasticity and good air permeability of leather, and its finished products are comfortable, durable and beautiful.

 

Suede leather: Refers to the surface of the velvet leather, the use of leather front (growth hair or scale side) by grinding into called velvet, the use of leather back (flesh) by grinding called velvet, the use of two layers of leather made of linen is called two layers of velvet, because suede has no coating layer, its breathable performance is better, the softness is more changed, but its waterproof, dustproof and maintenance become poor, The firmness of suede without grain is reduced. Suede products are comfortable to wear and have good health performance. However, except suede made by oil tanning, suede is easy to be dirty, not easy to clean and maintain. It is mainly used for leather shoes, leather clothes, leather bags and gloves.

 

Finishing leather: It refers to the leather that partially or completely removes the original surface of animal skin and then applies artificial film on it. There are first layer modified surface leather and two layer modified surface leather. The surface film is mostly made of finishing liquid made of various chemical materials after many times coating and pressing some patterns. Modified leather is mainly to make up for the lack of material surface, its poor air permeability, low fastness, folding resistance and aging resistance is reduced, wear as comfortable as full grain leather, but its water resistance is good, easy to clean and maintain.

 

Composite leather refers to a layer of rubber film on the split skin, has good chemical resistance, durability, suitable for footwear.

Finishing split leather is the addition of a colored resin layer to the split skin

More Information


Starr launches a range of renewable carbon products to open new opportunities for sustainable leather

On June 1, 2021, Starr actively promotes environmentally responsible and reliable chemicals with the launch of its new StahlYmpact® line of leather chemical solutions made from renewable materials. As the first step in a sustainable strategy, Starr has launched its first series of renewable carbon polyurethane based on biomass and "carbon capture in CO2" for leather finishes, with a base and top finish of 66%. The product portfolio helps tanners reduce their environmental footprint while ensuring product quality or performance. Across the global leather industry, pressure from consumers and regulators is forcing tanners to improve the environmental impact of their products and services. In response to these issues, Starr launched the StahlYmpact® series to help customers grasp business opportunities in depetrochemicals. First, seven renewable carbon polyurethane solutions for base and top coating were unveiled, with two more products to be launched in the second half of this year. All StahlYmpact® solutions offer the same or better functionality than traditional solutions without the need to replace existing manufacturing equipment. With a strong track record in co-creation and open innovation, Starr has worked closely with a number of partners to develop the StahlYmpact® family. In fact, in order to ensure transparency and accountability to all our downstream partners, this series of products has been tested for biological based carbon content using the ASTM6866 carbon isotope method and has been certified. The StahlYmpact® line uses only futh-ready chemical ingredients, and all products meet the requirements of the Hazardous Chemical Zero Emission (MRSL) Production Restricted Substances List and contain less than 1% volatile organic compounds. "The introduction of the StahlYmpact® series underscores our commitment to using reliable chemicals and reducing the environmental footprint of the leather industry," said JoachimHenkmann, Global Marketing Director of Starr Leather Chemicals. This line of renewable carbon products will help our customers to move easily and efficiently towards sustainable development, seize new business opportunities and enter new markets. In the future, we will continue to work with our partners to further promote the defossilization process in the leather industry, providing solutions based on renewable raw materials from the entire water farm to the finish stage. Based on the present, we will strive to build the StahlYmpact® series into the emerging technologies of the future." Starr: Helping shape a better chemical industry Headquartered in Walwijk, the Netherlands, Starr works with global partners to develop and supply chemicals essential for everyday materials such as footwear, clothing, automotive and household goods. Supported by nearly 2,000 employees around the world, our processing and coating expertise helps these everyday materials perform better for longer while reducing their impact on the environment. Starr was founded in 1930. Nearly a century later, we remain committed to shaping the chemical industry for the better and building a high quality of life around the world. We have identified four areas of strategic importance to achieve our corporate goals: digital transformation, open innovation, renewable materials and sustainable development. We will work with our value chain partners in these areas to create more value for our employees, customers, investors and the whole society.


In the first five months of this year, both import and export of leather and leather products maintained growth

Our leather industry is typical export-oriented industry, depending on foreign market is high. Imports are mainly leather products, raw materials such as rawhide and wet blue leather, while exports are mostly shoes and manufactured goods. According to the newly released statistics, during the first five months of this year, the export value of leather, fur, goods and footwear products reached 28.175 billion US dollars, an increase of 37.3% over the same period last year. Imports amounted to $3.862 billion, up 74.5 percent year on year. Import growth was 37.2 percentage points higher than export growth. Imports maintained rapid growth From the perspective of segmented products, the growth rate of manufactured goods picked up significantly. Footwear continued to be the biggest contributor to imports. From January to May, 104 million pairs of footwear products were imported, with a value of $2.747 billion, up 21.9% and 47.0% respectively year-on-year. It is worth noting that the import of leather shoes is growing rapidly. From January to May, a total of 28,642,500 pairs of leather shoes were imported, with the amount reaching 1.095 billion US dollars, up 26.7% and 59.8% compared with the same period last year, respectively. The growth of the import volume and the amount of leather shoes were 4.8 and 12.8 percentage points higher than the total import volume of shoes, respectively. While a low import base last year was an important factor, it still reflects signs of a slight pickup in demand for leather shoes. Leather cases and bags are the second largest imports. Imports from January to May reached 51.305 million, or $2.675 billion, up 29.5 percent and 132.3 percent, respectively, over the same period last year. The third category of imported products is rawhide and semi-finished leather. Driven by multiple factors such as low international raw leather prices, increasing demand from downstream markets, and stocking up during the low price period, imports of raw leather and semi-finished leather showed an increasing trend from January to May this year. Among them, the import of rawhide was 557,400 tons, the amount of 514 million US dollars, up 13.6% and 22.0% year on year respectively; The import of semi-finished leather was 250,500 tons and $441 million, up 20.2% and 33.6%, respectively, compared with the same period last year.


Specification for size calculation of genuine leather

1, the unit of measurement of leather usually has area and weight two ways: the square foot is often used in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan is often used in the square foot. Among them: 1 square foot = 30 cm *30 cm, 1 square foot = 25 cm *25 cm Japan and other countries are usually according to the DM leather unit, 1DM = 10 cm *10 cm; Europe and the United States and other countries are usually according to the weight (ounce) as the leather unit, specific according to different thickness and leather to determine the price per ounce; In China, some corner scraps are often sold by weight (KG). 2. The area of leather material is measured by the factory consumption leather machine. When measuring, all the corners and corners are calculated. The area can not be calculated by measuring the longest edge * the widest edge of leather, and because leather is of irregular shape, a square foot of leather is not exactly 30 cm *30 cm, and it is difficult to calculate the corners when we observe with the naked eye or measure with a ruler. So usually what we see is less than the theoretical area we calculated. 3. The length of a full-grown cowhide is about 250cm, the widest part is about 200cm, and the area is about 50-54 square feet. The average length of a pig's skin is about 110 centimeters, the widest part is about 90 centimeters, and the area is about 10 to 13 square feet. The length of the whole sheepskin is about 80 centimeters, the widest part is about 60 centimeters, and the area is about four to six square feet. This is just an average, and the actual size of each leather will vary greatly. 4, the actual sales of leather is not all the whole, some half a sheet, some a quarter of a sheet, some extremely irregular shape, such as the side leather, usually 20-40 cm wide, arc is a long strip. 5. Therefore, the amount of leather used in our calculation is calculated according to square feet, and there will be the loss of the whole skin and the actual loss, which is also the reason for the difference between the results calculated by many customers and us.