ECCO is the 3rd largest producers of quality leather in the world, and only top quality leathers are produced at ECCO’s tanneries which supply ECCO’s shoe factories and external customers. ECCO produces 27.8 million square feet of leather annually.
ECCO has been producing since 1986 and the ECCO leather group, today, has 4 production units: Netherlands, Indonesia, Thailand and China. ECCO Shoes uses 85% of the leather that ECCO produces, and the remaining 15% is sold externally to high end third parties.
The tannery in the Netherlands is home to the ECCO leather headquarters and the research and development team there are constantly investigating more environmentally friendly production methods as well as developing new and innovative types of leather. It is the only centre of it’s kind in the Netherlands-with tradesmen who are highly skilled in what they do.
ECCO’s tanning process is conducted in compliance with the strictest environmental rules:
The Leather Making Process:
1. ECCO imports raw hide from all over the world (as waste) and the supplier is controlled and checked vigorously.
2. The leather is washed several times in large drums to remoe dirt, hair and natural fat
3. The hhide is processed to cut off excess fat and make the hides slimmer. They are then checked in laboratories if the leather is not damaged (wounds, insect bites, gun wounds, leather disease)
4. The hide then goes in to the tannery where it undergoes a chemical tanning process to make it soft, flexible and stable in water. At this point, the hides are referred to as wet blue, becuase of the blue-green shade which they acquire after treatment.
5. The wet-blue is re-tanned in drums with colour and is dried, stretched, toggled, sprayed and pressed to get the right look, feel and quality of the finished leather. It takes 10-17 times for the leather to retain the correct colour.
ECCO prides itself on keeping the whole process from cow to shoe in house. This way they can ensure quality, standard of working conditions, an environmentally friendly process and that the highest quality leather is produced to make the shoes they are so famous for.
{ 0 comments }
