It's been a while since the last time , but it's ②-5.
Cause of extinction ② Decrease in demand
There are likely to be several factors contributing to the decline in demand for leather products.
- Young generation away from leather
- Cashless
- Telework
- Improving the quality of artificial leather
- SDGs wacha wacha
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②-5.SDGs Wacha Wacha
I wondered if actions with SDGs in mind could have an impact on the leather industry.
Vegan leather has recently become a hot topic as an alternative material to genuine leather.
Vegan leather is often referred to as synthetic leather.
(I'm impressed that you can add value by renaming it)
“This material is attracting attention as it is more sustainable and ethical from both animal welfare and environmental considerations.”
(Quote: What is vegan leather? Learn about the hot topic of ethical materials )
That's what he said.
If you have a halfway strong awareness of animal welfare and environmental consideration, will you dislike genuine leather and collect vegan leather?
The machines used to produce vegan leather will probably cause some environmental damage, and since the leather used in leather products is a by-product of cattle, genuine leather can be said to be more animal-friendly.
There doesn't seem to be any clear SDG-based superiority or inferiority between leather and other materials, so the one with the boom may be the winner.
[New material vegan leather for the SDGs era]
VS
[SDGs material from ancient times, real leather]
Looks like you can sell either one.
However, among the types of real leather, chrome tanned leather is not good in terms of SDGs because the manufacturing process releases contaminated water that has a negative effect on the human body.
Since most of the commonly distributed leather in the world is chrome tanned leather, reform is inevitable.
The only way for the industry to survive may be to capitalize on the SDGs-driven boom in non-chrome tanning and tanning, which are considered environmentally friendly.
This is because vegan leather is supposed to be sold to the public from the perspective of being "environmentally friendly."
The flip side of this is that ``genuine leather is bad for the environment,'' and if it goes too far, the concept that ``genuine leather = harm'' may be spread.
Nowadays, we need to let the world know once again the goodness of genuine leather.
If you miss this timing, you will be walking down a dark path until genuine leather is reconsidered.
I can imagine a scary future in which, even if it were to be reconsidered someday, we would be in an environment where we would not be able to recover because there are no factories that can produce.
Decline in demand is already evident
I've thought about various factors so far, but I remembered that there was a case where you could tell that the future was bleak even without thinking about it.
According to a story I heard from a leather wholesaler in Japan, leather wholesalers in Europe are rapidly going out of business.
Leather wholesalers have the role of mediating between tanners who make leather and us manufacturers, and facilitating transactions.
However, as demand for leather products has disappeared worldwide, the amount of leather that manufacturers purchase from tanneries has decreased. As a result, the leather wholesalers who were the middlemen disappeared.
For this reason, European manufacturers either go through independent agents or go directly to tanneries.
There is no way that an industry where wholesalers go bankrupt cannot be called a declining industry.
So should we close our shop now?
Darwin's story
Will the leather industry decline or become extinct? How can we survive?
"The species that survives is not the strongest. It is not the most intelligent. It is the one that is best adapted to change."
These are the words that Darwin is said to have said.
It is often applied to companies, and is said to mean that only companies that keep changing will survive.
But actually...Darwin didn't say that. .
The real Darwin: ``All living things are changing, and they simply survive by chance.''
What do I mean...
Giraffes did not grow their necks to eat leaves, but giraffes with short necks died because they could not find food.
In other words, it does not mean that "those who change survive," but rather that "those who survive happen to be different from those who died."
yeah? Does that mean we can't help but change as a company, so we should just pray and leave it to luck?
It is true that survival of the fittest is a matter of results, and there may be a large element of luck.
But we are humans.
You can acquire the skills and ideas necessary to survive.
You can increase your chances of survival.
There are many things you can do.
Respond to SDGs.
To create a leather boom.
Inventing leather products that are perfect for a new lifestyle.
Incorporating artificial leather and using our own technology to create wonderful products.
Do your best in human affairs and wait for your destiny. I see.
bright future
The world population is 7.875 billion as of 2021.
When I talk about population, I always think of the lyrics of the Blue Hearts' "Hammer."
``Personal depression of 4.8 billion people: the earth is creaking because it cannot bear its weight''
Since this song was released in 1987, I always think that there were still 4.8 billion people at that time.
I (born in 1985) have been taught that the world's population is 6 billion people.
The perception of this may differ depending on the generation, but it is surprising that there are now 7.8 billion people. I'm surprised that you don't feel it.
It is predicted that the number will reach 9.7 billion by 2050. It's amazing speed.
Population growth will accelerate problems such as environmental pollution and food shortages.
So, is there no bright future?
Will the leather industry become extinct?
Wouldn't the increase in population mean an increase in the number of people using leather products?
Isn't this going to be a trend of population increase → livestock increase → effective use of hides → leather products?
Leather products are humanity's oldest recycled products.
As long as humans exist, leather products will be immortal.
In order to be a leather product manufacturer that will be needed in the future, it is important to be conscious of society and act in a way that creates a bright future for ourselves.
