Cost of leather going through the roof

[Clueless Git]

Chatting to a bloke who runs a leather upholstery business yesterday.

Apparently the cost of leather (to trade) has rocketed by 30% in the last 12 months.

Mr Bloke says it is due to the increasingly affluent Chinese market bidding wahtever it costs to secure vast quantities of the highest quality hides.

This is significant in as much it now makes leather a revenue source for the murder-for-money monkeys of the animal trades.

(Previously, according to an industry source, skin was actualy a financial liability and was being disposed of pretty much as waste).

By my understanding of business logic the meat industry will now balance the profitability of leather with the profitabilty of meat.

Likely upshot of that is that meat may become increasingly subsidised to make sure that the muddy-minded ones can shift the cold dead flesh of wahtever increasing numbers of animals they are pumping into the pipe line to make top dollar, for as long it lasts, on the sales of their skins.

And, just as a "did you know ..?"

Mr Bloke told me that every cow slaughtered makes FIVE whole skins in total. Apparently a whole hide is too thick to be used 'as is' and each one gets sliced five times and becomes five seperate grades of leather each of which commands a different price.

[Clueless Git]

Are there any prizes here for posting topics of absolutely no interest to anyone at all?

[Tofukitty]

Thanks for sharing this info CS. I think someone had posted before about cow's skin being nearly a waste product before so good to get more up to date info.

Personally, I refuse to call it anything but cow's skin because that is what it is, skin. Calling it something else further buries the hope people will realise what exactly they are wearing and how disgusting it is.

Well...I try....

[leedsveg]

Are there any prizes here for posting topics of absolutely no interest to anyone at all?

No.


As Tofukitty mentions, a similar thread regarding the price/value of leather, was debated up to fairly recently, otherwise you'd have had dozens of argumentative responses, mate!

(In a similar vein, I often find that after I've posted in a thread, my posting is enough to kill the thread. The forum is littered with my deadly handiwork. One of the few times that I started a thread, the second person posting more or less asked me why I'd bothered. I still lack the confidence to open a thread and feel ok about it, perhaps it's just me but everybody else seems to be able to manage it.)

lv

[pat sommer]

I admire people who lack confidence and go ahead ANYWAY. Confidence is highly overrated...

Anyway, will check out above info as I had been under the impression that China and India were competing heavily in the finished leather goods trade. Tons of upmarket (dead skin) shoes now coming out of China where cheap fakes once ruled. Leather furniture too big big for export and domestic market.

[whalespace]

Personally, I refuse to call it anything but cow's skin because that is what it is, skin. Calling it something else further buries the hope people will realise what exactly they are wearing and how disgusting it is.

Well...I try....

Just imagining explaining to a child that "lea.?*r" is usually the skin of a young cow, dipped in poison to slow down the rotting...at a polite dinner party.

(In a similar vein, I often find that after I've posted in a thread, my posting is enough to kill the thread. The forum is littered with my deadly handiwork. One of the few times that I started a thread, the second person posting more or less asked me why I'd bothered. I still lack the confidence to open a thread and feel ok about it, perhaps it's just me but everybody else seems to be able to manage it.)

lv

Perhaps you subconsciously tend to post when the conversations are almost broken leedsveg. If you started more threads then perhaps you could break that "appearance".

Are there any prizes here for posting topics of absolutely no interest to anyone at all?

I hadn't been thinking about this subject, so this is something else for me to think about.
Generally speaking some topics take more time to get a handle on than others... so although prizes are rare, I think topics should get credit for relevance as well as instant appeal.

[leedsveg]

Perhaps you subconsciously tend to post when the conversations are almost broken leedsveg. If you started more threads then perhaps you could break that "appearance".

Hi whalespace

I totally agree and will take up your suggestion.

lv

[Clueless Git]

Hi whalespace

I totally agree and will take up your suggestion.

lv

Heh! Cool!

One thing LV ...

The topic idea "does meat damage the brain?", with supporting evidences, is .... MINE!

[SlackAlice]

No.

(In a similar vein, I often find that after I've posted in a thread, my posting is enough to kill the thread. The forum is littered with my deadly handiwork. One of the few times that I started a thread, the second person posting more or less asked me why I'd bothered. I still lack the confidence to open a thread and feel ok about it, perhaps it's just me but everybody else seems to be able to manage it.)

lv

Phew! thought I was the only 'thread killer' !! I was begining to get a complex about it. I hardly post but when I do its usually 'game over' for whatever topic had previously been steaming ahead !

[leedsveg]

Phew! thought I was the only 'thread killer' !! I was begining to get a complex about it. I hardly post but when I do its usually 'game over' for whatever topic had previously been steaming ahead !

I know the masochist in you doesn't really want me to reply but.....



..........just a minute SA, I've checked and you've not started any threads on VF! I think you're just after the sympathy vote. You're not secretly Gillian McKeith from "I'm a celebrity..." are you?

lv

[SlackAlice]

I know the masochist in you doesn't really want me to reply but.....



..........just a minute SA, I've checked and you've not started any threads on VF! I think you're just after the sympathy vote. You're not secretly Gillian McKeith from "I'm a celebrity..." are you?

lv

Its true, its true!!! You have outted me!

START a thread ?? ..its scary enough that I kill off the ones I contribute to without risking the eerie silence that would inevitably follow me STARTING one!

Now excuse me but I need to sit down I am suddenly feeling faint!