Leather wares: ‘Untested leather can cause skin cancer’

Leather should be tested from the PCSIR research group before using it for production.

LAHORE:

Most leather goods manufacturers in the country do not get their processed leather tested from the Pakistan Council for Science and Industrial Research (PCSIR) before using it for production, says a recently issued PCSIR report.

The report suggests that testing of processed leather before use in production of goods should be made mandatory. It says only 10 per cent of leather ware manufacturers, mostly exporters, get processed leather tested from the PCSIR before using it for production.

The report says several chemicals are used in the processing of raw leather. These, it says, if used in excessive quantities can cause allergies and skin cancer.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th,  2011.