Past-president of the International Council of Hides, Skins, and Leather Traders Associations (ICHSLTA), Nick Winters, has said a stark decrease in the availability of calf skins is likely to have an effect on the luxury leathergoods sector.

Speaking at the Sustainable Leather Forum in Paris on September 9, Mr Winters said the annual volume of calfskins coming onto the market in France has fallen by around 600,000 in the last ten years.

He said that, in France, where he is based, the availability of calfskins fell by around 7% in 2022 and by the same percentage again in 2023. In 2024, to date, he said there had been a further decline, which he put at 5% year on year. He concluded that France’s total calfskin availability is now unlikely to reach 1 million pieces per year.

“What this means,” he said, “is that the luxury industry is going to have to look for alternative materials.”

He explained that calves are usually reared indoors and, after livestock farmers send them to slaughter, provide high-quality skins that have great appeal for luxury brands. He said those brands might look at young bull hides instead, pointing out this raw material, too, can be of very high quality.