Successful use of Remnant: Attractive Reversible Grain Pattern Leather from Bovine Ear

Abstract

At the present time, complete utilization of bovine parts will leadto the development of exotic leathers with attractive grainpatterns. In this work an attempt has been made to prepareexotic leathers from the bovine ear, which is a solid waste fromthe slaughterhouse. Ears are the peculiar part of bovine, where aflexible cartilage (Type II collagen) is covered by the skin matrix(Type I collagen). The process for the preparation of the leathersfrom bovine ears has been optimized. The physical andmorphological characteristics of the leathers have been carriedout. The air permeability analysis revealed that the airpermeability decreased with increase in the cartilage thickness.The processed ear possessed high resistance towards stitch tearand abrasion. The attractive reversible grain pattern along withgenuine leather property provides an opportunity to utilize thismaterial as a new source of raw material for leather making.