SAFLEC South Africa

The South African Footwear and Leather Export Council, abbreviated SAFLEC, is an industry body dedicated to promoting exports of South African footwear, leather goods and leather products to international markets. Headquartered in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, SAFLEC represents manufacturers of leather shoes, safety boots, casual footwear, leather garments, handbags, belts, and other leather products. The South African footwear industry has a long history dating back over a century, with manufacturing concentrated in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces. SAFLEC provides export development services including market research on target destinations, participation subsidies for international trade fairs such as the Micam in Milan and GDS in Düsseldorf, trade missions connecting South African manufacturers with international buyers, and compliance assistance with international quality and labelling standards. The council also works on improving the competitiveness of the South African footwear industry against low-cost Asian imports.