AKIPRESS.COM - Mongolian nomads are renowned for their functional, fashionable and durable leathercraft.

However, tonnes of unprocessed animal leather hide are thrown away in Mongolia. As the processing of leather is a trying and hazardous process, many entrepreneurs choose the more profitable and easier to procure cashmere.

Every year, 7 million hides are semi-processed in Mongolia, 90% of which are exported to Italy, Spain and Turkiye at low prices. The excess 7-8 million hides are added to the growing landfills in the country, the EBRD press service says.

Mongolian leather professional Enkhnasan Tumen-Ulzii wanted to reduce the level of discarded animal hides. She founded her brand Maris in 2016, focusing on sustainability and green technology. Their adoption of an innovative ‘vegetable tanning processing’ removed the requirement of many of the hazardous chemicals no longer needed for leather processing.

The Maris brand, initially focusing primarily on leather handbags, rapidly transformed into Maris Trade LLC in 2019. However, as the company grew, so did its need to improve its product development, production, marketing and sales. With the company approaching a critical moment, their leadership sought professional assistance and enrolled in the EBRD’s highly competitive bundled consultancy programme.

This business advisory service diligently analysed Maris’s activities and immediately took on the task of introducing the internationally recognised ISO 9001:2015 quality management system into company operations.

With the major reforms supported by the consulting service, Maris increased its sales by revamping and improving their production.

They drastically decreased waste by introducing an early detection system for faulty animal hide and began utilising smaller pieces of usable material through the production of new accessories such as mousepads, card holders and other utilities. The company bounced back and today it is trendy for youth in Mongolia to purchase these durable and fashionable leather accessories.

"I started Maris because I wished to reduce the leather waste in my community. With the help of the advisory service, we can now repurpose large amounts of raw leather that would previously have become waste," says Enkhnasan.

Compared to 2021, Maris's sales have increased by nearly 70%. With the successful implementation of the management system, the company is now equipped to export its goods internationally and has even created a prototype rugby ball for their new Japanese partners. It is now set out to send out test products to European countries.