Xeros looks to leather'¨markets'¨after trial

The Rotherham-based firm makes polymer beads that can be used in specially designed washing machines that replace most of the water with the beads and it believes this technology has other uses, such as in tanning leather.

Xeros said the high consumption of water, chemicals and energy are the biggest challenges faced by the leather industry.

The full-scale trial, which was conducted by a leading independent tannery, showed that material reductions in water, chemistry and effluent were achievable by using Xeros’ technology in the re-tanning and dyeing phase of leather processing.

When Xeros’ technology was applied to this phase of the process, the water used and the effluent generated were reduced by over 50 per cent. The leather produced was judged to be of excellent quality in terms of look, feel and handling.

The group said it will carry out further trials.

Mark Nichols, chief executive of Xeros, said: “This is an important development which hails a step change in the sustainability of the leather processing industry.”