THE INDIAN LEATHER INDUSTRY

Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses. Together with wood, leather formed the basis of much ancient technology. The leather industry and the fur industry are distinct industries that are differentiated by the importance of their raw materials. In the leather industry the raw materials are by-products of the meat industry, with the meat having higher value than the skin. The fur industry uses raw materials that are higher in value than the meat and hence the meat is classified as a by-product. Taxidermy also makes use of the skin of animals, but generally the head and part of the back are used. Hides and skins are also used in the manufacture of glue and gelatin.
The Indian leather industry is spread over the formal as well as informal sectors and produces a wide range of products from raw hides to fashionable shoes. The industry comprises of firms in all capacities starting from small artisans to prominent global players. Specialized institutions like CLE (Council for Leather Exports) and CLRI (Central Leather Research Institute) have been set up to promote the overall performance of the industry.

India ranks first among major livestock holding countries in the world and thus has a rich endowment of raw materials in terms of the cattle population. It has the capacity to fulfill 10% of the global leather requirement. Export of leather and leather products during 2004-2005 registered an impressive growth at US$2,380 million, exceeding the target of US$2,284 million fixed by the Commerce Ministry.

Central Leather Research Institute or CLRI is the world's largest leather research institute. It is located in Adyar, Chennai (India). CLRI was founded on April 24, 1948. It is a constituent laboratory under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research. http://www.clri.org/

The World's largest Leather Research Institute, was founded on 24 April, 1948. CLRI made an initiative with foresight to link technology system with both academy and industry. CLRI, today, is a central hub in Indian leather sector with direct roles in education, research, training, testing, designing, forecasting, planning, social empowerment and leading in science and technology relating to leather.

State-of-art facilities in CLRI support, innovation in leather processing, creative designing of leather products viz. leather garment, leather goods, footwear and development of novel environmental technologies for leather sector. Objectives Awards & Achievements Leadership Industrial Linkages International Linkages Contributions to Science Organisational Structure Crisis Modeurop Vision & Mission