Abstract:
Most of the leather produced in the world today is used for
the manufacture of shoes, garments and gloves. These leather products
are, however, traditionally excluded from the articles embraced by
the term "leather goods", which covers such articles as ladies'
handbags and other bags, cases of all kinds - from suitcases to small
eye-glass cases, wallets and purses as well as belts and straps. The
term "fancy leather goods" is usually applied to products that are
made from exotic materials such as reptile, bird or fish skins or
extensively decorated ordinary leather.
Leather goods are made in almost all the countries of the world
and demand is usually quite high and constant. Production is highly
labour intensive, needing in extreme cases almost no machinery. In
many developing countries there are often many small production units
manufacturing leather goods, mainly for the local tourist trade.