Editorial

Editorial nº 89

Editor’s Letter

The exigencies of the international leather market force suppliers to be constantly informed, to meet the latest requirements of the major leather processing brands. Not having access to that information, be outdated, it may mean losing a business, stay out of the market.

It is no longer just about knowing what is REACH, what information we must ask our chemical suppliers, but also to access environmental regulations that the European Community has issued and which is working on and that it will apply as a requirement for companies exporting hides to Europe.

Currently the brands that sell leather goods high quality, are interested in knowing the exact origin of the skin: full traceability, not only to the slaughterhouse, but also to the place where the cattle was raised.

We know that for the last years, producers of Brazilian leather, must declare whether skins come from animals that have been bred in deforested areas of the Amazon basin.
There are brands of leather goods high quality, who also want to know the method used to kill the animal, to make sure that it has had a death without suffering.

Argentine tanneries that export to Europe and Asia faced with the need to send to laboratories abroad, samples of hides produced to certify that they are free of substances declared as prohibited or restricted are below the maximum limits allowed by the legislation or customer specifications. This is an issue that we discussd in a previous editorial : the need to count with an Argentine laboratory, certified to ISO 17025, which can perform all required analysis.

Many chemicals are found in nature. Our body is a wonderful laboratory where hundreds of chemical reactions occur per minute.

Some chemicals are natural and other synthetic, but today, chemicals are the basis of most our everyday life: plastics, fabrics, leather, paper. These chemicals, manage the properties that the market demands or wishes, that are biodegradable, soft or firm, smooth or rough, washable or water repellent, transparent or colored....

But every product, chemically react with the substrate, when applied to a material, giving origin to chemical reactions that many times generate unexpected products which may fall within the list of restricted and / or prohibited substances. There are a lot of research to do and learn very much much !!!!!

For all the above, it is essential to be updated, read the latest publications.

Not all tanneries have the ability to access that information individually, but can do so through AAQTIC library. In our headquarters, they are available as well, the papers presented at the international and regional latest leather conferences and congresses.

Participate in the next International Congress of IULTCS to be held in November 2015 in Novo Hamburgo, it should not be seen as a cost or a loss of productive time for tanners and / or technicians tanneries.

It is an opportunity to update knowledge, to know what's going on in the world, sooner or later it will affects us and when that time comes, the effect must be positive for our industry.

Lic. Patricia Casey - Treasurer