There are many types of leather used for the manufacture of footwear, as well as the additional derivatives that appear from them, through the application of different transformation processes. We have everything from the classic and most basic lambskin to crocodile skin.

Below we present those that we can consider the main ones due to their common use, the most basic ones.

Lambskin (Napas): This is one of the most commonly used leathers in Spain and the world, and Spanish lambskin is one of the most sought-after leathers in the world. These leathers stand out for their softness and dark colour, the most commonly used being black. They tend to have little shine and are used in all types of flexible footwear and also in other types of clothing, to make linings and as the main material for clothing such as hunters, jackets, etc.

Cowhide: One of the highest quality leathers comes from the United States, where they are experts in tanning it. They are mainly used for the manufacture of footwear, specifically for sports shoes. It is a leather that is characterized by being a little oily, for its hardness and thickness, from which different layers are extracted. The outer layer is the one used in the manufacture of footwear. Within this type of leather there are various subtypes depending on the treatment, one of the best known is Nobuck, which is nothing more than the intermediate layers of cowhide but very well separated and with a special treatment with fats to achieve a very soft texture.

Goat skin: One of the main producing countries is India, but it is in Spain where the tanning process is best carried out. Its main use is also footwear, specifically elegant and sober dress shoes. It is a leather that can easily be given a lot of shine. They are characterized by being very fine and flexible leathers. There are different types depending on the size of the grain, with the finest grain known as “tafiletes” and the coarsest grain “dóngolas”.

Pigskin: This is produced in a large number of countries, with Muslim countries being the exception for cultural reasons. It is a porous leather, which at first glance reminds us of suede. Its main use is outside of footwear, mainly as a lining for clothes and bags. It is also characterized by being of poor quality compared to those mentioned above.

Among the less common leathers for footwear, we have the following:

Buckskin, from the antelope: Due to the danger of extinction of these animals, it cannot be legally marketed, and what we usually find are synthetic copies of it. Synthetic copies are also widely used in the manufacture of footwear and other garments.

Crocodile skin: This is rare due to the protection afforded to these species and the high price of this skin derived from the former. They are used in luxury items as durable, resistant and flexible leathers. They are also characterized by their beauty, derived from the shiny scales that are used to create different patterns.

We can also find other types of leather that are actually derived from the previous ones, through a special treatment process, as is the case of the so-called turned leather or split leather. The inner side is used, serrated in layers, in thick leathers.