The diagram below illustrates the production process of leather goods.
Overall, this process involves a series of stages that consist of both physical, chemical or biochemical changes which alter the natural state of an animal’s skin to produce leather.
In the first stage, the animal skin extracted is spread on a hanger for extensive drying before it is transported by a lorry to the factory for further development. Progressively, in the factory, this raw material is washed in a mixture of water and lime to properly eliminate any possible germ or bacteria from the hide. Furthermore, after the washing procedure, this material is then soaked in lime for an unspecified period of time.
In the fourth stage, after soaking in lime, the hide is moved to a flattening machine. In this process, it is flattened to give it a proper texture for flexibility so that this material can be manipulated easily to fit in different shapes and sizes. Going forward, the leather is almost complete, but it needs to be soaked again in a mixture of water and tanning vegetable matter. This gives the leather the usual brown leather appearance we are familiar with. In the sixth stage, the leather is polished properly before it is delivered once again to another factory where it can be used to produce leather goods such as bags, shoes and even a soccer ball.