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America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

latimes.com

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Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#81

Post by bsder »

ngngngng wrote: post #55

I'm actually in the market for a leather jacket and boots right now, but I certainly haven't noticed prices going down at all. I'm finding leather jackets extremely difficult to shop for. Online advice is all over the place, and I want something to last a lifetime.

The article comments on that: high-end leather still has plenty of demand.

What doesn't have demand is the secondary tier of leather. Basically, "let's bond this shitty leather with plastic" doesn't have any takers anymore.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#82

Post by amdanil »

xahrepap wrote: post #67
stonogo wrote: post #61

I'd be interested to know how much of this has to do with the dilution of the meaning of 'leather' in terms of consumer goods. The market is flooded with garbage products, which are produced by slicing a thin veneer of leather and gluing it to a plastic backing, which is then sold as "bonded leather." It's gotten so bad that full-grain leather products are exceedingly rare. Since 90% of "leather" products are such aw…

I had a really awesome leather belt that I got when I was 15. I stopped wearing it when I was 30 because my weight finally out outgrew the belt. Still have it. It's no worse today than it was when I got it as a teen. I go through about a belt a year now. Because I always seem to end up with this crap you describe. Even if I try to avoid it. Guess I need to do a better job looking... Or just lose some weight so I can…

Could just order some from China(1). Have to read the description carefully tho. Usually anything under 15USD not worth buying and over 30USD you're overpaying.

(1) https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32816882257.html?spm=a2g0o.p...

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#83

Post by seltzered_ »

benj111 wrote: post #78
deelowe wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check out Tanner goods. Definitely buy it for life belts, wallets, etc.

Life belts? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-belts/s?k=Life+belts Belts for life??

The person's referring to the general term "buy it for life" - products that last a lifetime or longer. (https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/)

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#84

Post by stevenbedrick »

lwhalen wrote: post #56
ngngngng wrote: post #55

I'm actually in the market for a leather jacket and boots right now, but I certainly haven't noticed prices going down at all. I'm finding leather jackets extremely difficult to shop for. Online advice is all over the place, and I want something to last a lifetime.

Depending on where you're located, it might be worth checking out Langlitz Leather in Portland, OR. I have two of their jackets, my girlfriend has one, and I have friends who have them as well. They are absolutely "buy once, cry once" garments, I suspect my family will be fighting over mine when I am (eventually) dead.

Seconding the Langlitz recommendation- their stuff is fabulous.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#85

Post by human20190310 »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #41
human20190310 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Non-leather goods are even worse. It's really hard to find a vegan wallet and belt that isn't pretending to be leather in some inadequate way.

> It's really hard You can't just google "canvas wallet" or whatever is your preferred material?

Many of these canvas wallets include features such as "full-grain leather trim" which defeats the purpose of the search. Those that don't mostly look like fragile garbage.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#86

Post by DoreenMichele »

human20190310 wrote: post #21
jbob2000 wrote: post #11

This is a shame because if you search for leather goods online, you’ll find whole shops full of garbage quality leather called Premium Crafted Leather aka PU Leather. They take leather fibers and coat it in polyurethane to give it a “proper” finish. It’s disappointing to see a race to the bottom with leather quality when it seems like there’s no need for that.

Non-leather goods are even worse. It's really hard to find a vegan wallet and belt that isn't pretending to be leather in some inadequate way.

Suspenders, money clip.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#87

Post by cnst »

eloff wrote: post #64
stonogo wrote: post #61

I'd be interested to know how much of this has to do with the dilution of the meaning of 'leather' in terms of consumer goods. The market is flooded with garbage products, which are produced by slicing a thin veneer of leather and gluing it to a plastic backing, which is then sold as "bonded leather." It's gotten so bad that full-grain leather products are exceedingly rare. Since 90% of "leather" products are such aw…

I bought a pricey belt from Kenneth Kole made of this crap without knowing better. It was garbage within months. I learned my lesson and bought a proper leather belt from who knows what brand from Amazon for a fraction of the price, it's doing great years later. My parents had a horrible experience with made in china "leather" chairs. They had to reupholster them within months. You have to be very careful buying leat…

The brand names are the worst in this regard. I think pretty much any Kenneth Kole leather item I have ever seen in the last 10 years has been fake leather; definitely do stay away from those.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#88

Post by jdsully »

sokoloff wrote: post #65
acdha wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The economy is hardly white-hot, especially for people below the top decile or so – the median American worker made 5% LESS in 2018 than in 1979 ( https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R45090.pdf ) – so I’d be surprised if this wasn’t basic economics: for a long time, leather was a premium good and cost more, so companies focused on using less of it and the large fraction of consumers who favor low prices rewarded them for it…

It appears to me that the report you cite says that the overall median real wage rose by 6.1% over that time period. (Table 1, page 4, first row; related text on page 5). What figure in the report are you using to determine a 5% decrease over that time period?

It almost certainly comes from this paragraph:

> In 1979, wages at the 10th percentile ranged from $10.03 for black and Hispanic women to $14.42 for white men, whereas in 2018 wages in the 10th percentile ranged from $9.72 for Hispanic women to $13.70 for white men.

This adds up to -4.99% for white men in the 10th percentile. Above the 10th percentile everyone has done better.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#89

Post by praptak »

squirrelicus wrote: post #71
brandmeyer wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beef and hide are coupled goods. One cow produces about X kg of beef and Y m^2 of hide. If demand for beef is extra high, then it will depress the price of hide because the ratio in supply is roughly fixed between them. There are other examples in modern society. Chlorine and caustic soda are produced in strictly fixed ratios from NaCl salt and electricity. Extra demand for one will depress the price of the other. Th…

I can't help but get the sense that your economic materials analysis is based on a video game crafting economy. If the profitability of leather is low enough, then people will trash the raw hide but butcher and sell the beef. There's a lot of labor and logistics and materials that goes into producing the beef you cook or leather goods you buy beyond (cow) -> (meat,leather) -> (food,clothes). Remember, nobody knows ho…

How does this contradict the point that GP made? GP did not imply that you get a free piece of leather with each cow slaughtered, just a hide.

Btw, even game economy models this part - in Dwarf Fortress a slaughtered animal produces skin, which will decompose if not tanned or converted to parchment.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#90

Post by [deleted] »

jdsully wrote: post #88
sokoloff wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It appears to me that the report you cite says that the overall median real wage rose by 6.1% over that time period. (Table 1, page 4, first row; related text on page 5). What figure in the report are you using to determine a 5% decrease over that time period?

It almost certainly comes from this paragraph: > In 1979, wages at the 10th percentile ranged from $10.03 for black and Hispanic women to $14.42 for white men, whereas in 2018 wages in the 10th percentile ranged from $9.72 for Hispanic women to $13.70 for white men. This adds up to -4.99% for white men in the 10th percentile. Above the 10th percentile everyone has done better.

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