France’s leather sector aims to have what it has called “an innovative and immersive” presence at a major agricultural exhibition, le Salon de l’Agriculture 2024, which is scheduled to take place in Paris from February 24 to March 3. By Leatherbiz.

In the build-up to the event, which will take place against the backdrop of widespread protests by French farmers, the country’s leather industry said it wanted to celebrate leather’s links to livestock farming.

It will offer an animated demonstration at its stand to show how tanners make leather, going from the animal in the farmer’s field all the way through to the finished material.

President of industry body Le Conseil National du Cuir, Frank Boehly, said livestock farmers in France were “indispensable as suppliers of raw material” for the country’s leather manufacturers.

He praised farmers’ efforts over a number of years to increase animal welfare and, in so doing, improve the quality of hides and skins. He said that, before campaign groups began to talk about animal welfare, farmers were already taking steps to remove barbed wire, expand livestock vaccination programmes and improve transport practices.

Mr Boehly added: “We should pay tribute to them. To transform hides from French cattle into leather is a way of lending support to our livestock farmers. It is also a way of being part of the circular economy and the move towards a more sustainable and more responsible world.”