Siberian inspiration
13/11/2008
A German leather supplier has decided to devote itself to providing manufacturers of footwear, other products with tanned salmon skins and has even taken its name, Nanai, from an indigenous people from eastern Siberia who set about re-learning the ancient craft of making fish leather.
The company, based in Bischofsmais in Bavaria, uses only vegetable tanning methods, which it says preserve the structure and pigmentation of the original fishskin. It also points out that the fish themselves come only from ethical farming programmes.
The result, according to Nanai, is leather that is soft, strong and hypoallergenic. In addition, tests have shown it to have high levels of light and colour fastness and to perform well in terms of abrasion resistance.