A delegation from the Barcelona Leather Cluster travelled to Italy in November to build alliances, carry out a benchmarking exercise and conduct a fact-finding mission, writes Leatherbiz.

Specific areas of interest for the Barcelona Leather Cluster, which represents more than 50 companies, educational and cultural establishments in the leather value chain in Catalonia, included adding value to waste and claiming leather’s place in the circular economy.

Seeing at close quarters how companies in Italy’s leather industry are addressing these questions was a source of inspiration for their counterparts in Catalonia, the delegation said.

Representatives of the Barcelona Leather Cluster visited a series of sites in Italy in which the processes for extracting value from waste and organic resources are advanced. Examples they looked at included projects for using amino acids as bio-stimulants for organic farming, and oils as a component of biodiesel.

They returned with what they called “a wider vision” of how to use technology and innovation to optimize the value of waste deriving from the tanning process.

“The circular economy is a fundamental, strategic pillar for us,” the Barcelona Leather Cluster has said.