ECONOMY
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH FOR LEATHER
By Luiz Bittencourt and Helio Mendes
Luiz Bittencourt 
Hélio Mendes
Year after year, genuine leather is kept under attack in the vilest possible way on the basis of absolutely false pretences.
This time, the “executioner” is the vegan sector that, despite not having the facts, blames animal slaughter for the offer of pelts.
One does not need to be an expert in the art of leather manufacture to understand that the beef sector is the only responsible for animal slaughter.
Except for the meat, all bits deriving from slaughtered animals are sub-products of beef and that, without an industrial use, those bits would be discarded becoming a major environmental hazard.
The latest charge took place on February 26th and was performed by The Week magazine, in an article showing the production of leather from cacti by two Mexican farmers.
The paradox of the article grows when it states that this “innovation” may save the life of millions of animals, an assertion anchored on lies.
It is surprising that the attacks to leather do not bring about any economic gain to the vegan sector therefore we are left with just one alternative for such behaviour, where the main interested party would, no doubt, be the man-made materials sector, the plastics manufacturing competitors of the leather industry which are, in fact, bound to cause a huge environmental problem.
While vegans let themselves be fooled by the fake idea that leather is to blame for the slaughter of animals, the plastic materials sector cunningly takes advantage of the immoral doubt it has spread and moves forward by displacing a natural raw material, threatening to infest the sea with non-biodegradable plastics which would result in a monstrous environmental crime.
Stealthy competition, the worst of all kinds, dismisses technical reasoning and uses deceitful tactics to remove the competitiveness of leather in spite of its characteristics, physical qualities, beauty, glamour and the comfort it provides.
In fact, there is an aggressive marketing campaign based on twisted information that stimulates unfair competition.
There is no room for foul play on the leather side, mainly because of a matter of character, but all the limits to vituperation have been exceeded.
Recovering the true image of leather is now necessary and it will be achieved by telling the truth about our competitors in the same ratio as the attacks leather has suffered.
The time has come to re-establish righteous principles in the terms and conditions of competition.
Luiz Bittencourt – Former President of Center for the Brazilian Tanning Industry (CICB) and Former Vice President of International Council of Tanners (ICT)
Hélio Mendes – Government and Business Consultant – www.institutolatino.com.br
