Chennai, May 19 (PTI): Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh on Thursday said the carbon footprint of leather processing activity should be brought to zero-level and the bio-economy of animal skin-derived products would be the new mantra.
Collagen-based innovative biomaterials for applications in human healthcare are new opportunities and they could well become co-products of leather, if the next generation leather- making technologies avoid contaminating skin-based matrix materials with lime, sulfide and many other sensitive chemicals, he said.
Speaking at the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Chennai, Singh said the leather footwear needs to be designed and developed into footcare solutions with foot hygiene and wearer comfort as the unique selling proposition.
"There are as many as half a million cells in the sole of the feet that enable the sweating process and leather enjoys an unmatched potential for transpiration," he said. Diabetics' footwear is one such product that ensures better quality of life due to the reduction in the abnormal distribution of plantar foot pressure, the Minister said.
Efforts are on to prepare customised footwear for Indians by using 3D technology to scan the feet of the persons to prepare their footwear. About 73 districts in the country have been included to implement the project in the first phase, he said.
The Indian leather industry must seek net-zero carbon footprint to meet the environmental norms, he said and added that the carrying capacity requirement of the leather sector in locations like Tamil Nadu demands the implementation of zero liquid discharge as the enforced environmental norm, which is under discussion.
"The new vision for leather research and industry during the next 25 years may need to be on sustainability, net zero carbon footprint, bio-economy of animal skin-derived products and ensuring income parity for workers besides brand- building," he said
Singh said the Indian leather sector, which provided livelihood for about 50,000 people in 1947, is widely known to support the livelihood of over 45 lakh people in the country today.
Expressing satisfaction over the export realisation from the leather sector valued at Rs 40,000 crore in 2021, he lauded CLRI's role in helping the tannery sector in Tamil Nadu to restore operations when the Supreme Court ordered the closure of about 400 tanneries in 1996 through the innovative deployment of "do ecology" solutions in all the 764 functional tanneries within nine months.
Tracing the evolution of CLRI, Chennai, from 1948, the Minister said the new vision for leather research and industry during the next 25 years should be to carve a niche in the world market through innovation and brand-building.
Singh released a coffee table-book containing 75 success stories related to CLRI to commemorate the 75th year of the institute and Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. A special stamp and envelope brought out by the Postal Department to mark the occasion was also released by the Central Minister.