Leather Uses

From LeatherLink Knowledge Base

Where do we use leathers?

We all know the obvious uses

1. Footwear
   1. Shoe upper leathers
   2. Shoe lining leathers
   3. Shoe sole leathers
   4. Shoe counter lining leathers
   5. Shoe sock lining leathers
2. Garments and personal effects
   1. Jacket leathers
   2. Shirting leathers
   3. Gloving leathers
   4. Leather for wallets, bags, waist belts, pouches etc
3. Upholstery and binding
   1. Domestic furniture upholstery leathers
   2. Automotive seat leathers
   3. Automotive covering leathers
   4. Book binding leathers
4. Industrial and other applications
   1. Saddle leathers
   2. Industrial belting leathers
   3. Industrial washer leathers
   4. Chamois leathers

Relative Importance

• Leather for footwear production account for over 60% of leathers commercially processed in the world, followed by leathers for personal effects which account for about 25% of the total. Therefore, any discussion on leathers mainly focuses on footwear leathers and clothing leathers. However, in recent times leathers of upholstery have been gaining prominence in the market and the share of these leathers now stands at about 5% and rapidly increasing.

• Leathers for industrial and other uses have been gradually replaced by synthetics of better performance characters and today less than 10% of the leathers go towards these uses and the quantity is declining further.

When we talk of leather, we mean the products we use in our day to day life, shoes, boots, jackets, car seats, sofas so on. On majority of these uses the leather is exposed to the environment and is in direct or indirect contact with the human skin.

What makes leather so special for this purpose. Click here to learn about the properties of leather which makes it an unmatched material for these uses.