SAN ANTONIO — Outside North Star Mall, you can see a statue of the iconic ostrich-skin leather cowboy boots. We spoke with a boot maker here in Texas who told us that because of tariffs, exotic boots like these might see a price increase.
Ostrich leather has a unique look.
“Where the big, large quills are of the bird and when they pull them out after they’ve been de-feathered, it creates these quills,” said Brett Emmons a General Manager with Cavender’s Boot City.
Buyers love it. But Ryan Vaughan, with Rios of Mercedes Family of Brands Boot Company, says 70% of ostrich leather in the world comes from South Africa.
“There’s just some things we can’t do very easily and ostrich is one of them,” said Vaughan.
He understands why tariffs were introduced, but says in the U.S., we don’t have the same infrastructure or workers with knowledge on how to handle ostriches.
“Do you have the right fencing? Do you have the right feed? Do you have the right resources?” said Vaughan.
Ostrich leather from South Africa has faced a 30% tariff since August, but it’s not the only exotic leather being imported. There’s elephant leather from Zimbabwe and fish skin from Brazil.
“There’s not that much of a demand for just cowhide and bison leather boots,” said Vaughan.
But Brett Emmons tells us he’s seen all sorts of wholesaler suppliers’ boot prices go up. A General Manager of Cavender’s Boot City.
“If it’s a work boot built in China, we’re seeing some huge price increases so it depends on the part of the world, not the type of boot,” said Brett Emmons, general manager of Cavender’s Boot City.
High prices or not, the love for a good pair of boots still runs deep in the heart of Texas.
Vaughan says that his suppliers will stop eating the cost of tariff cost come January, and it will be up to wholesalers like him to decide if they want to do the same. If not, we could see up to a 10% increase on store shelves.