The report from Mercado Republica in León, in the state of Guanajuato – the epicenter of Mexico’s leather supply chain – is both interesting and thought-provoking. On the one hand, it’s encouraging to know that there are still places in the world where a form of “spontaneous circularity” is still practiced: where industry still works as a cascade, with smaller players making use of what larger ones might otherwise waste. On the other hand, it also invites reflection on a kind of innocence that supply chains elsewhere have lost, squeezed by competition from major players or mass production.
Spontaneous circularity in León
In short, “in Mexico’s leather and footwear capital, nothing goes to waste”, enthuses the reporter from a local publication. The point of the report is that the operators of Mercado Republica—which does not trade only in leather or leather goods, although it has a dedicated section for them—manage to reuse “90% of leather offcuts”. Because every time a hide is cut, “10% becomes waste”, which, however, is sold at the market stalls to those who make coin purses or small accessories. Similarly, when hides have defects or irregularities, traders work to salvage the usable parts. “Although a small portion of the smallest or most damaged fragments ends up in the trash, the collective commitment of workshops and traders”, the article concludes, “ensures that most of the leather is used, promoting the circular economy”.
What we’ve lost
There are several initiatives to recover so-called “dead stock” materials, left forgotten in warehouses, and some of them have been highly successful. Luxury brands have also launched projects to turn production scraps into small collections. But while reading the report, the words of an independent leatherworker came to mind. Some time ago, while visiting his workshop, we asked why he didn’t use offcuts to make tags or key rings, as is now fashionable, instead of throwing them away. His answer was laconic: “I don’t have the prestige of a big brand, which can make margins even on those items”. And indeed, the market has become polarized between a high-end segment where competition is fierce and a mid-range segment where cheap, mass-produced goods (often imported) have an easy time. In this context, circularity has to be engineered; there’s no room left for spontaneity.
Read also:
- Hyer Goods sees itself as a success, even without a turnover worth billions
- Bandit Manchot: a champion of circularity for the past 15 Years
- Chanel launches Nevold, a material and product recycling company
