Mike Redwood

Life’s too short and demands on time too many. I’m going to cease posting here in future and do everything in my own name from now on. Thanks. Mike

City States, before the time when the only examples were Singapore and Monaco, all had hinterlands with livestock and tanneries. At a time when it is hard for even sophisticated governments to provide stable public goods for their countries it makes sense for new modern City States with sensible local supply chains for much of their food and consumer goods to take a greater role in governance and societal management.

Incredible growth in annual production of plastics since 1950. Almost all of it still exists today. Mostly as waste in landfill, the sea, or informally dumped in nature to damage the environment, the beaches and almost everything else. With oil and gas for transportation and electricity being gradually replaced fossil fuel companies plan a big expansion of petrochemicals of which about two thirds are plastics. This weeks meeting in Korea has to stem this tide of destruction. Fossil fuel plastic has been useful, but that does not give it the right to destroy the planet and replace all natural materials.

COP29 and the US Election put the leather industry’s drive for sustainability as its headline promotion of leather as environmentally friendly and a leader in material circularity at risk, if not done with care.

no economic system can exist without trust and shared moral values

the business model of the legacy automotive companies in the US and EU have got it wrong, not helped by climate change matters being pulled into the polarised woke capitalism debate and climate sceptical politicians unwilling to fund the necessary changes.

History reminds us just how versatile and ubiquitous it is, all based on its properties and beauty. Its durability and longevity means it is still available after hundreds of years to help us interpret the past. Amazing. You can’t do this with plastic.

It costs almost nothing to join Leather Naturally and use its materials and graphics to promote your own leather while backing the organisations to develop it further and create more remarkable initiatives like the repairers register, leather truthfully, leather making manual and so on. So little work is being done by tanners to promote leather no amount of complaining will stop cheap synthetics eating your lunch. Outcome hides and skins remain as a waste material just as we say they are. No one else to blame than ourselves.

The urban leather world will be a challenge, but it could offer a bonanza to tanners who take it on. https://lnkd.in/ea3fHb3v

Given that this is the third oil producer in a row hosting the COP meeting they have honed their approach to prove that fossil fuels will still be required until 2050 as long as they are low carbon in production - can you believe it - and used for things like making hydrogen and capturing carbon. Plus also making more and more petrochemicals which include the plastics that ran alongside leather for a long time and now are actively pushing hides and skins into landfill at the abattoirs. Another widely distributed Leather Manifesto would be a useful tool. Keep up the momentum for leather.