As part of the effort to boost the country’s $ 150-million
leather goods export industry, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is now developing a tanning degreasing agent for animal skin to help manufacturers comply with world standards.
Dr. Nicomedes Eleazar, director of the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), said they are working closely with the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) for the development of improved tanning techniques for pig skin as leather material.
“The tanning process should replace the degreasing agent nonylphenol ethoxylate which is not easily degraded by the environment,†Eleazar said in a statement.
The project, dubbed as “Improvement of Processing Technology for Meat Skins from Selected Strains of Native Pigs,†will make use of paraffin and bile as potential replacement for nonylphenol ethoxylate.
“The replacements are natural materials that are more easily degraded in the environment,†he said.
Dr. Eduardo Torne, chief of BAI’s Animal Product Development Center (APDC) tannery and by-products, said the Philippines presently imports nonylphenol ethoxylates from Taiwan, China and other countries.
“This is at P220 per kilo. But the substitutes are cheaper,†Torne said.
Paraffin wax, which comes from animal fat, only costs P90 per kilo in the commercial market, and price drops to around P50 per kilo by bulk. Bile is also a cheap substitute since it is only a waste material from pork production.
“These are natural substances, so we can go organic with these degreasing agents,†Torne said.
Nonylphenol ethoxylates—surfactant mixtures used as detergents, emulsifiers, wetting and defoaming agents— presently have restrictions for commercial applications in Europe.
These substances are also banned in the United States, while Italy –recognized world’s shoe capital– has already stopped using nonylphenol ethoxylates.
“There’s a problem now on the acceptance of products in the European market. Even the US has also been looking for alternative degreasing agents,†Torne said.
The country’s search for a new degreasing agent is timely.
“We are always interested in innovations that displace our imports because that generates jobs. This work of APDC is also a way for us to shift to the use of raw materials that find harmony with nature,†Eleazar said.
The DA project aims to help small leather markers. There are only a few—five or six—large tannery in Valenzuela out of some 70 tanners. The rest of the tanneries are small, cottage-type enterprises.
The Tanners Association of the Philippines lists 51 members. Among the familiar member-brands are Otto, Gibi, and Bristol.
“We have many small tanneries, and they are who we want to help,†said Torne.
The APDC and BAI earlier been able to develop fish skin conversion into leather. This is now used by the industry which turns fish skins into bags, sandals, and wallets specially for designs and accents in leather.
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