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The leather industry manufactures leather for millions of people all over the world. We always want to try new things such as shoes and belt accessories. And these things are made from leather. Some leather is made of animal skin, but some are artificial.
While manufacturing accessories, belts, purses, and handbags, animal skin and hides are treated with chemicals to preserve them and make clothing, footwear, handbags, furniture, and sports equipment comfortable.
The interesting fact about the leather industry is that the skin of large animals like cowhide or horsehide is preserved and used. The skin of smaller animals is mostly used in accessories. This preservation process is called tanning which converts perishable skin to a stable and non-decaying material.
Leather is always a stylish accessory for us. The importance of the leather industry is to make leather useful for making accessories. The process involved in leather making is called tanning. The agent used in the tanning is vegetable tanning, in which tanning is done through tree bark, mineral salts, and fish or animal oils.
The skin of different animals is used, namely ostriches, lizards, fish, and animal oils. The leather is mostly taken from different groups, including cattle, calves, oxen, sheep, lambs, goats, and equine animals, including horses, mules, zebras, buffalo, pigs, and hogs, some aquatic animals such as seals, walrus.
Leather and the products are one of the oldest and most traded products. These leathers are taken from the food industry’s waste, especially from meat processing units. The leather-producing industries are currently exceeding the data of $80 million.
Origin of Leather Making
Leather making is a traditional art practised for more than 7000 years. In the olden days, fresh skin was dried in the sun, it was made soft by beating, and animal fat was removed and preserved by salting and smoking.
The Egyptians and Hebrews started the tanning process in 400 BC. During the 15th century, the method of tanning was widespread in European countries, leather-like cordons became high-quality material, and the sale of leather took drastic changes. During the industrial revolution or in the 19th-century tanning, fleshing was introduced. This process is done by advanced machinery, and at the end of the 19th-century, chemical tanning took place using the bark of the tree-like oak, chrome salts, and the sumac tree’s bark.
Some leather is artificial by nature and is not taken from animal skin. This type of artificial leather came into existence during the 19th century. A German Chemist developed nitrocellulose by Christian Friedrich in 1854. These substitutes were used to dress the wound before and make a protective layer, but then it is used in accessories and fabrics for protective coating.
Fabrikoid invented another artificial leather used for resisting water. This is used in binding notes, linings, and automobile covers. The third type of leather fibre used is Naugahyde, a fabric coated with leather fibres and rubber. It was first used in women’s handbags in the 1920s before expanding into other industries. In the 1960’s artificial leather developed in such a manner that it looked like real leather.
India’s Contribution to Leather Making
The Indian leather industry contributes a large amount by exporting footwear products. India contributes 13% of the production and handles the annual production of 3 billion sq ft of leather. The leather industry is known for its consistency in highly robust export earnings and the country’s top ten foreign exchange-earners.
India has raw materials with access to 20% of cattle and buffalo and 11%of the goat and sheep population. The leather industry needs manpower, so people from weaker and backward sections of society. India has the youngest workforce in the leather industry.
Amazing Facts About The Leather Industries
The commonly used leather are accessories, bags, and other materials. Besides this, leather is also used in different types of products mentioned. Here we will learn some interesting, fun facts about the leather industry, which are mentioned below:
The leather industry generates more than $53.2 billion worldwide annually
This is the annual figure including various commodities such as rubber, cotton, coffee, and sugar combined. India is earning over 1.42 billionUS$ per tonne by exporting goods made of leather.
Leather was once used as a wallpaper
At the beginning of the 19th century, people used leather as wallpaper because leather makes the temperature inside the house warm during winter and severe cold regions.
Environmental friendly
Leather contains pores. It changes its texture and appearance depending on the environment. If the environment is fairly humid, the leather becomes softer as it soaks up the moisture. In a dry environment, the leather becomes harder.
An average person wears four articles made of leather every day
Leather is mostly used as a commodity by an average person. An average person wears a belt, takes their wallet made of leather, and at least wears a watch made of leather strap and formal shoes made of leather. So we can say leather is a very important product used by all of us.
White leather is rare material used in leather products
The rarest leather used in making car seats and white shoes is the most difficult to make because they are hard by nature, and it is difficult for tanning. Hence the products made of white leather are expensive compared to black and brown leather.
Golfers Used leather golf balls in the 19th century
During the 19th century, golf won the hearts of the nobles. At that time, wooden balls were used, but after the invention of leather, people started using leather balls because wood became damaged, and hence leather balls filled with feathers were used to avoid damage.
Sailors in sailboats and ships used leather
Leather has good retention because it is hard by nature and lightweight, can float easily and cannot decay due to salty waters, and supports the ship’s basement.
Conclusion
The leather industry plays a very important role in the gross income of the Indian economy. This industry covers a large pyramid of export earnings, unemployment problems, growth, and prosperity of the country.
Hence, the leather industry is very important in day-to-day life and has a key role in the vast spectrum of inputs, activities, skills, and livestock.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ireland on September 23, 2015. It was the second time an Indian Prime Minister had visited Ireland. The first being Jawaharlal Nehru’s visit in 1956. Ireland is an island nation located in Northwestern Europe and surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean.
The Prime Minister of Ireland, Enda Kenny, had hosted PM Modi during his visit. The PM was attended by other dignitaries such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charles Flanagan, and Ireland’s Ambassador to India, Feilim McLaughlin. The main aim of the visit was to create stronger ties and improve trade and cultural relations. Described below is the impact of the PM’s Ireland visit.
Impact on trade and commerce
India and Ireland have strong bilateral trade and business relations. Before the PM’s visit, trades with Ireland were valued at €650 million in business in 2014. This included exports worth €248m and imports worth €402 million.
The indigenous exports increased from €32 million in 2012 to €55 million in 2014. In 2019, the total bilateral trade was around €1.2 billion. The exports and the imports have also increased to €636 million and €480 million respectively. Currently, the total trade between India and Ireland is valued at €4.2 billion. This resulted from improved bilateral ties between the two nations, owing to Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Ireland.
Indian Companies in Ireland
Many Indian companies carry out trade and commerce in Ireland. They provide services to Irish markets and consumers across various industries. Pharmaceutical giants such as Reliance Genemedix and Amneal Pharmaceuticals operate in Ireland. Major IT companies such as Wipro, Infosys, TCS, and HCL also have a strong presence in the country. The trade relations were bolstered after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ireland.
Other companies like Crompton Greaves, Deepak Fasteners, Jain irrigation systems, and Shapoorji Pallonji provide consumer goods and services. Likewise, many Irish companies conduct their business in the Indian market. These companies include pharmaceutical and nutrition players like ICON and Glanbia, IT firms like Globoforce and other companies like Keventer, CRH Taxback Group, and Connolly Red Mills.
Impact on Education
Ireland has been a coveted destination for higher education for Indian students. Over 5000 Indian students have enrolled for higher studies in various institutions in Ireland. The students are admitted to engineering, technology, medicine and management colleges. More than 30 research agreements have been signed between the two nations that allow institutes in both countries to collaborate.
Many reputed institutes like Trinity College, Dublin, and Thapar University, Patiala, have signed MOUs for engineering and science disciplines programmes. Thus, Ireland is an essential collaborator in graduate and doctoral research. This collaboration is also considered an impact of the PM’s Ireland visit.
Indian Community in Ireland
Ireland is diplomatically significant for India also due to the large number of Indian citizens residing there. The Indian origin population is approximately 45,000 people, of whom 18,500 are Non-Resident Indians (NRI), and others are Persons of Indian Origin (PIO). The majority of the residents are working professionals employed in engineering, healthcare and management positions.
It has helped in establishing many policies for the Indian origin population. Two such policies in practice are wearing hijab as a part of the police uniform and the non-requirement of obtaining an additional work permit for the spouse or the partner of Critical Skill Employment Permit holders.
Cultural Impact
As a result of a large population of Indian origin citizens in Ireland and the relationship between the two nations, Ireland promotes Indian culture in various forms. One such example is the celebration of Diwali in Ireland since 2008. The event is organised every year in collaboration with Irish and Indian committees.
Further, an annual contemporary film festival is also a part of the celebration of Indian culture. The promotion of such events indicates the importance of cultural exchange between the two nations. The Irish communities also take a keen interest in conventional practices such as cultivating and consuming Indian herbs and spices. This connects the agricultural practices between the two nations. The cultural ties between the countries were strong, and Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Ireland helped strengthen them further.
Another significant practice is the celebration of International Yoga Day in Ireland. The Irish communities have accepted Yoga as a form of a healthy lifestyle. The practice is similar to the Indian tradition.
Tourism
India attracts around 44,000 Irish tourists every year. Indian tourists too visit Ireland in similar numbers. This was facilitated by the introduction of the common British-Irish visa scheme. This scheme allows the tourists to visit the U.K. and Ireland under one visa, rather than applying for two separate visas. It is valid for short stays. India also extended its Electronic Tourist Visa facility to Ireland to digitally facilitate visa approval and generation. The impact of the PM’s Ireland visit was such that it has also helped establish the tourism sector in both countries.
Conclusion
The diplomatic ties between Ireland and India have been impacted positively after Prime Minister Modi visited Ireland in 2015. It was an essential step toward strengthening the bilateral relationship between these two nations. India and Ireland have been important to each other since the 1900s.
In 2010 and 2017, two honorary consulates were established in Chennai and Kolkata. Later in 2019, a formal and fully functional consulate general in Mumbai. Ireland and India have also shown their allegiance to fighting terrorism after the Pulwama attack. India has also hosted several Irish dignitaries on various occasions. These visits were directed toward engagement in business, education, health and tourism.
Further, many agreements were signed to provide opportunities for employment to people of both countries. Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Ireland helped revive relatively stagnant relations between these two nations. Several cultural and historically similar instances bind these two nations. From Yeats and Tagore to cricket and Diwali, the cultural semblance between these two nations has helped create a strong tie between them.
