We all know a couple of fun facts about leather. Like it is made of animal hide, smells great, is durable and easy to clean. There are also some other fun facts of leather which are not so obvious and widely known but are interesting. Here are some amazing facts about Leather and Leather Industry
Did you know?
1.An average consumer can be found to be using at least 4 leather products at a time. These products may include a pair of shoes, belts, wallets and even the leather strap of a wrist watch.
2.Leather industry is a Billion Dollar industry and is slated to reach revenue of $91.2 billion by 2018. And a major chunk of this revenue is going to be from leather footwear.
3.Facts about leather would not be complete without stating some astonishing numbers. An amazing 147.65 billions sq. ft. of leather was produced during 2009-2011.
4.Leather is a by-product of the cattle and dairy industry. Its value is only around 5% – 10% of the total value of the animal.
5.Romans widely used leather sails on their boats. They also used it for home furniture, shoes and armour. And around 1000 BC fashionable Egyptian women wore leather as a luxury fabric.
6. Leather shoes were assigned left and right only in 1818. Until then, they could be worn on any feet. They had no worries about wearing the wrong shoe on the wrong foot.
7.Goatskin leather was traditionally used to make maps and pigskins were used to carry around water. Obviously, as there were no water bottles during that era.
8.Stylish and up class 17th Century households of Venice used leather as wallpaper. Or should we call it wall leather? You decide the fun name.
9.In the Victorian Age, it was a commonplace practice to take one’s homemade leather mugs to the local pub for a drink. Talk about keeping it hygienic.
10.Leather processing was a necessity that followed the meat and dairy industry. If not for it, the world would be looking at a huge disposal problem.
11.Leather is measured in ounces per square feet. The amount of weight per square feet determines the thickness and quality of the leather. For instance, if a square foot of leather measures 3 ounces, its thickness would be around 1/8th of an inch. Sometimes, fun facts include some math!
12.Cowhide is the most commonly used hide for the production of leather due to its ease of care and wide variation in weights from 1 -12 ounces.
13.19th Century Leather Golf balls were stuffed with enough feathers to fill a top hat. Now that is an optimal use of space.
14. There is such a thing called as exotic leather which is usually made from the skin of alligator, deer or ostrich and sometimes even snakes. One of the most exotic leathers is the Stingray leather from Thailand.
15. Colored Leather is fun. And white leather is the most difficult to make as not all hides can absorb the white dye without giving it a cracked look. Only high quality hides can absorb the white dye and look natural.
We surely don’t use leather sails anymore. But what we use are laced leather shoes, belts, wallets and bags. Shop for high quality leather shoes and trendy wallets at Voganow today.
