COVER STORY

EXPLORING SEA LEATHERWEAR

KSHIPRA GADEY

Textile Value Chain

Introduction

Efficiency of the human brain has always successfully found a way out to fulfill the needs through every possible aspect. When humans thought that they needed to cover their bodies, they invented clothing. This clothing was initially the skin of dead animals. Modern day man has evolved and developed immense technological advances. The similarity between the modern-day man and ancient is that both passionately wore the dead animals; then for need and now for a fashion statement.

Humans have tried all the animal hides including mammals, reptiles, birds and even the human skin. How would aquatic animals stay safe in this race of beautiful hides for fashion? Humans have successfully created leather from every possible animal including aquatic animals like fish. Fish skin is an uncommon sort of leather. Lately, objects produced using stingray leather have been in fame, because of the glass globule like surface construction of the skin. Likewise, the expansion of fish ranches, for different species, has expanded the accessibility of fish skin, as skins would in some way or another be squandered. Fish leather is more grounded than other skin types, if similar thicknesses are looked at. The elasticity of fish leather comes up to 90 Newtons (for example salmon or roost). The assembling guideline for fish skin creation was created by the Nanai individuals from Eastern Siberia, who generally make fish leather articles of clothing. The tanning requires about a month. The skins considered for making fish skin leather are Shark, salmon, carp, stingray, cod, ocean wolf and sturgeon. Fish skin for the most part has a flaky construction, is slenderer than leather and is viewed as versatile and tear safe.

Procedure for making fish leather

First step in making fish leather is gathering fish skins. For making this leather on small scale, skin can also be obtained from fish stalls. With the help of fleshing blade, overabundance tissue is scratched. Skin is then kept for absorption in saline arrangements. Scales are eliminated and with the help of synthetic specialists, producers discharge the scales. Skin is then detoxed. This fundamentally implies that the skins get an intensive washing to eliminate any oils or natural matter. It is then delicately cleaned. It can then be preserved or converted into hide. The skin can be refrigerated for preservation. Tanning procedure can be utilized for this. Fish leather can likewise be dried by pressing. It can further be coated for strength and waterproof property.

Fishes that can be utilized for leather

1. Stingray Leather: The first one and the most widely used exotic leather is a stingray. Stingray skin is a solid, strong cowhide with a "rough" surface of smooth pearls across its surface and is both moderate and arrives in a wide exhibit of tones and sizes. Stingray skin, In view of the shifting levels of size among grown-up stingrays utilized for cowhide, stingray skin will be found in additional huge extravagance applications like upholstery, vehicle insides, and trims, while likewise being found in more modest applications like wallets, satchels, adornments and decorates. Stingray skin is otherwise called shagreen. Today, the skins we purchase to make wallets, watch ties, wrapped boxes and little sacks, are for the most part from cultivated stingrays in Asia, specifically, Thailand. The skin has a sinewy tissue side comprised of collagen filaments, similar as standard cowhide, yet that is the place where the similitudes end.

The surface is comprised of little circles, now and again called pearls. They are bigger in the focal point of the skin and more modest on the external edges. Each little circle is comprised of a hard substance called dentin, with a considerably harder external covering of veneer. The stingray utilizes this tooth like external protective layer as a guard framework against assault, which is the reason the circles just cover the space of the beam around the essential organs. During handling, the delicate substantial outside wings are taken out (for food utilization), and the

Figure 1: Stingray Leather

upper layer of shagreen is shipped off for tanning. This is the reason stingray skin is not reliable with the state of a live stingray. Most stingray skins are chrome tanned which permits the skin to stay solid and adaptable for item make. 2. Atlantic Stingray Leather: The Atlantic stingray is a type of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, normal along the Atlantic shoreline of North America from Chesapeake Bay to Mexico, including bitter and freshwater environments. It very well might be recognized from different stingrays nearby by its generally stretched nose. This species

Figure 2: Atlantic Stingray Leather

is of minimal business significance. The skin of the Atlantic stingray has a totally unique surface contrasted with the typical stingray leather. The skin does not have a pearl structure. Leather objects from Atlantic stingray cowhide are uncommon.

3. Carp Leather: Carp fishes are widely used across the world for obtaining leather. These fishes are of various varieties and come in different sizes. The most widely used carp type is regular carp for leather. This kind has a soft and scaly skin. They are used commercially for making fashion products in a variety of colors. The barbe is a European freshwater fish of the carp family. The skin of the barbe has a commonplace scale structure and is immediately unmistakable as fish leather. Leather objects produced using barbe skin are exceptionally uncommon. 4. Catfish Leather: The catfish is the biggest freshwater fish in Europe. They lean towards huge lakes and streams with sloppy water and are generally found in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The catfish has no scales. The calfskin is smooth with an unmistakable grain and drawing. A lot of designs can be obtained naturally obtained on catfish leather. The sizes vary naturally according to the size and type of the catfish slaughtered.

Figure 4: Catfish Leather

5. Cod Leather: Leather produced using the cod is an uncommon blend of fine and coarse surfaces. The sizes of cod leather are somewhat better than those of the salmon, however the surface is more differed – generally smooth yet with clear coarse patches. Cod is found along Iceland's coast.

Figure 5: Cod Leather

The length of cod leather stows away is somewhere in the range of 40 and 50 cm and the shape are remarkable. Cod leather covers up are triangular: most extensive at the neck, 12-15 cm and tightening back towards the tail. Normal size is 0.6 square feet. Cod leather can be colored in quite a few different tones.

Cod leather is accessible in two sorts of finish: open scaling, which makes a coarse completion, and shut scaling, which conveys a fine completion. A full scope of surface medicines is conceivable with one or the other sort of finish.

6. Eel Skin: Eels are fish not snakes. Since eels, like snakes, are legless. About the lone thing eels share practically speaking with snakes is that they are unfeeling and of comparative shape. Their bodies are smooth and disgusting to the touch and they live in the sea and in some new water sources universally. Marine (saltwater) eels like the Moray Eel and the Conger Eel arrive at imposing sizes. These species are wild and are found in coral reefs.

Most different kinds of eels live in new water in Europe and Eastern America. Both European and American Eels leave their new water homes at producing time in the harvest time when they are prepared to lay their eggs. Youthful eels show up at some point in the spring.

Figure 6: Eel Skin

Eel skins are a biresult of the fishing business (sushi) and they have a texture like quality and are sold in sheets generally alluded to as boards. More than 70 little skins entirely sewn together will make a genuine 1st grade eel board. Eel has as of late become exceptionally mainstream in European high design, which has led to a consistent expansion sought after abroad and, less significantly, locally. As the material is delicate and stretchable, this adaptability makes it ideal for applications like furniture upholstery,

vehicle upholstery, garments, and footwear. Eel skin boards are industrially created in boards which are 2 feet by 5 feet or 10 square foot. They come in both matte and reflexive completions in numerous shadings. Eel skin has a characteristic and sumptuous appearance and feel. Current development has delivered full aniline colored, metallic completions, unadulterated white, just as multi-hued boards. Eel leather is multiple times more grounded than commonplace cowhide cowhides of a similar thickness. All things considered, a few originators and fabricates are stressed that the meager idea of the skins and boards will deliver feeble or effectively tearable items. A typical practice is to follow or back their eel boards to fabric and additionally cow or pig skin. A few architects and produces grumble of spots or blunders when utilizing glue. The best arrangement is to inadequately splash vaporized cement as opposed to bunching a lot of standard cement when sponsorship or clinging to their indented surfaces.

7. Pacu Leather: Pacu from South America is identified with the piranha however it is an unadulterated product of the soil eater. It has striking teeth and a red stomach, while grown-ups have dark or dark paunches and weigh as much as 30 kilos. The pacu is a famous food fish and lives in streams and lakes. Like its perilous cousin, the piranha, the pacu is likewise covered with

Figure 7: Pacu Leather

numerous little scopes. 8. Parrotfish Leather: Parrotfish have thick, hefty bodies and huge scopes. They are found in tropical waters all through the world and show up in a wide assortment of tones, which may change contingent upon their sex, sta-

Figure 8: Parrotfish Leather

tus, or development. The leather from the tropical parrot fish is a run of the mill layered fish leather. The skins are 1.5" to 2" wide at the tightest end and 5" wide at the largest end. They are around 11" long down the center. 9. Salmon Leather: The skin of salmon is tanned. Salmon cowhide is dainty and light and is around 60 - 65 centimeters in length and 10 - 14 centimeters wide. The leather of salmon has a higher strength than sheep or pig leather. The principle use for this sort of leather is a specialty item for the embellishments market. Salmon leather is chic for packs, attire, or shoes. Salmon leather is regularly vegetable tanned or FOC (sans chrome) tanned.

Figure 9: Salmon Leather

10. Shark Leather: Shark skin leather has a long relationship as a "extravagant leather great." Like most creature covers up, shark covers up are a side-effect of the food business. Fishers measure shark meat for human utilization and offer the skin to colorful leather providers. Sharks have unpleasant, hard scales called denticles. Tthese denticles are ground down to make the leather smoother and simpler to deal with, which additionally gives shark leather its pebbled appearance. Since most tanneries granulate down the unpleasant scales, shark stow away has a special and stunning profound rock surface. Untanned skins are called shagreen, an overall term which likewise incorporates the untanned leather from ponies, seals, and even stingray cover up. Shark leather is intense and solid. It's difficult to the point that eighteenth and mid nineteenth century carpenters utilized shagreen for sandpaper. Even in the wake of being shaved down, the scales assist the leather with staying away from scrapes and scratches. 11. Other: Leather is not only obtained from the enlisted fish but also from several other fish like Tilapia, boxfish, moray eel, dolphinfish, puffer fish, etc. Major Fish Leather Producing Nations Across the World

Leather industry is one of the oldest industries in the world. Nations across the globe compete not only to be a leading leather producer but to also sell their leather to leading designer labels of the world. Fish leather production is yet to be a leading commercial business for a lot of Nations. China, India, Indonesia, Japan, USA, Thailand, Vietnam, Chile, Brazil, etc. are one of the leading fish leather producers of the world. Kenya has witnessed a subsequent growth in fish leather production in the past decade. Fish leather production accounts to less share in the leather production sector. Majorly produced leather is procured from cow, buffalo, camel, pig, etc.

Impact of Fish Leather Production on Aquatic Life

Every kind of leather produced from the animal kingdom requires a major execution of innocent creatures for human luxury and fashion. Leather production is one of the main reasons for reduction in number of few exotic animals and reptiles like crocodiles, alligators, tigers, rhinos, lizards, snakes, etc. A hike in fish leather production has also witnessed a rise in killing of these aquatic animals for leather. This has majorly affected the aquatic ecosystem as not only the enlisted fishes, but other aquatic animals are also brutally killed for procuring leather.