The leather team examined environmental management practices in the tanning and leather industry in Tamil Nadu using a logistics accounting tool. They visited the Central Leather Research Institute and several tanneries in Chennai, leather factories, and processing factories in industrial areas outside Chennai. The team documents the historical and environmental characteristics of leather-making activities in the region and highlights the success of the collaborative effort in shared wastewater treatment. The Indian leather industry is a major player globally and a major source of foreign exchange earnings. India is the third largest leather producer in the world, after China and Italy. In 2005, Indian leather exports were worth $2.5 billion. Around 50% of India's leather production occurs in Tamil Nadu, although there are other major industrial hubs in Kanpur and Kolkata, as well as cottage industries across the country. 
The industry employs over 2.5 million people, most of them in primary processing and skinning – collecting and consolidating hides into larger batches for sale to tanneries. The hides are either sold directly to the tanneries or sold in local markets, bought by tanners or mediators who bundle the hides and resell them to the tanneries. Large quantities of skins are also shipped directly from large slaughterhouses. This contrasts sharply with the fact that only a few leather goods producers export these products to overseas markets. Beneath this are many small leather goods producers, large and small semi-finished to finished leather factories (some of which are vertically integrated with leather goods producers), and thousands of large, small, and micro tanneries (raw materials, finished products, or the original finish). The leather industry is concentrated in several regions of the Paral Valley, from Erod in the west to the suburbs of Chennai in the east. The river flows from the western state of Karnataka through Tamil Nadu and into the Indian Ocean. At the same time, the first leather goods factories were established in the 19th century to meet British demand, the real explosion. 
The growth has taken place over the past few decades. During this period, the region's environmental conditions changed when Karnataka built a series of dams along the Paral River, drastically reducing the amount of water flowing through the valley. Additionally, the industry discharges untreated sewage directly into the water source, severely polluting the water source, the river and surrounding land. This raises groundwater salinity to a level where factories cannot use groundwater to soak hides, nor for most types of agriculture. National regulations limiting salt emissions, concerns over water availability, and changing consumer demand for greener products in European markets are driving changes in the environmental performance of the local production practices industry. From 1996, most tanneries began to treat their effluent on-site or in a shared central treatment plant (CETP), and many now use reverse osmosis to treat their inlet water. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has taken an active role in regulating the industry and monitoring its environmental performance. Many self-regulatory and voluntary initiatives are also taking advantage of existing cooperative networks. For example, factories in the Ambur region have created a waste minimization circle where representatives from the leather industry come together and share ideas on conserving resources and reducing waste, especially l 'energetic efficiency. 
Additionally, the Chennai-based Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) has played a key role in providing technical assistance to local factories to design innovative solutions to production efficiency and pollution management issues. . Some current CLRI projects include research into creating biodegradable leather products, non-leather products made from carcasses, and reducing the use of salt in production. The team found that while the improvement in the environment was significant, occupational health and safety conditions offered an opportunity for improvement. They believe that the production conditions of Indian industry, as well as the overall goal of sustainable development of industrial ecology, require greater attention to these issues. The next stage of the project is to incorporate and expand on this initial research into a journal article with the assistance of Professor Marian Chertow of Yale F&ES, designed for wide dissemination through web and print channels. More than 450 companies, including at least 150 from overseas, will gather in Chennai for this year's India International Leather Fair, the country's premier leather trade event. 
The 34th India International Leather Fair (IILF) will be held at the Chennai Trade Center from February 1-3. Again, it is organized by the Indian Trade Promotion Organization in partnership with the Leather Export Council and top leather agencies. The show will present a wide range of products related to the leather industry, from raw materials to auxiliary products such as finished leather, shoes and shoe components, leather garments, accessories, leather goods, machinery, and accessories chemical products. The IILF has always been a beacon of the Indian leather industry, and visitors will be captivated by the exhibits presented by over 450 companies, including over 150 foreign companies. This year's show comes at an interesting time for the Indian leather industry. Exports of leather, leather goods, and footwear increased by 5.25% (in rupees) during the April-October period compared to the same period last year. "In dollar terms, exports fell by 9.84% and 3.56% in 2015-16 and 2016-17, respectively," commented the Minister of Trade and Industry. 
According to the latest edition of the World Footwear Yearbook, India overtook the United States to become the second largest footwear consumer in 2017, a milestone in Asia's rise to global market power, reflecting strong demographic trends and economical. He also revealed that the country was the second largest shoe producer in 2017, with 2.4 billion pairs of shoes, a global share of 10.2%. However, challenges remain. For example, manufacturers of leather garments and shoes have asked the government not to consider semi-finished leather as finished products suitable for export, as this would significantly impact the supply of domestic raw materials. According to reports, the request responds to recent requests by semi-finished leather manufacturers to obtain a license to export their products as finished leather, which will help increase exports.
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