A Study on Water Vapour Permeability with Increased Functional Properties of Upper Leathers

Water vapour permeability is one of the most important physical properties of leathers, which impacts the essential functional properties such as the breathability and the comfort of leather products. With growing stringent requirements for sports footwear this property gains added significance. In this work an attempt has been made to enhance the water vapour permeability for upper leathers by opening up the fibre structure and designing suitable tanning and post tanning processes. The objective of improving water vapor permeability through enzymatic and chemical methods has been achieved without affecting other mechanical properties of leathers. Thermoporometry results too confirmed the water vapour permeability was improved positively with enzymatic and chemical treated leathers. The major finding is the differences in water vapour permeability between crust and finished leathers were minimal.