Leather Goods Production

Abstract

Most of the leather produced in the world today is used for the manufacture of shoes, garments and gloves. These leather products are, however, traditionally excluded from the articles embraced by the term "leather goods", which covers such articles as ladies' handbags and other bags, cases of all kinds - from suitcases to small eye-glass cases, wallets and purses as well as belts and straps. The term "fancy leather goods" is usually applied to products that are made from exotic materials such as reptile, bird or fish skins or extensively decorated ordinary leather. Leather goods are made in almost all the countries of the world and demand is usually quite high and constant. Production is highly labour intensive, needing in extreme cases almost no machinery. In many developing countries there are often many small production units manufacturing leather goods, mainly for the local tourist trade.