![]() ![]() It can also be made into almost any color or textures, which has appeal for fashion designers looking to try new ideas. ![]() The foremost advantage of leatherette is that it’s cheaper than real leather. Real leather is very durable against tears and punctures, and as such has had a long history of use in difficult working environments. High quality leather becomes softer as it ages, and has a distinct smell that many people prefer. It also “breathes” better than fake leather, making it more comfortable for use in products than come in direct contact with skin. The advantages of real leather include creating a higher resale value for cars, furniture, and other products in which it’s used, as real leather is regarded as a luxury feature and carries an air of prestige. The video below gives information on what leatherette is and how it's made: PVC-based synthetic leather can be a single layer of PVC treated with plasticizers and dyed to look like leather. This base is attached to a polyurethane layer that has been textured to imitate real leather. The manufacturing process of synthetic leather begins with a base of cloth material, which can be a synthetic polyester, or a natural material like cotton or the leftover split hide from leather production. The crusting stage readies the leather for use, and can include softening, lubrication, coloring, buffing, and many other treatments. The hide is then put in a rotating float with tanning liquor until it is saturated. The most common tanning material is chromium, which stabilizes the proteins. The tanning process turns the hide into a usable material that is flexible and will not putrefy if wetted (as opposed to dried raw hide, which is stiff and will putrefy). The preparatory stage is when the hide is unhaired, fleshed, degreased, bleached, and treated in other ways. The production process of real leather involves three stages: preparation, tanning, and crusting. Real leather also has a very particular smell that can usually be distinguished from the imitation of synthetic leather. Real leather tends to have more of a buttery and supple feel, while leatherette will have a slight plastic feel. A close inspection, however reveals that real leather has inconsistently spaced pores, while fake leather will have perfectly even or repeating pores. High quality leatherette can now be very difficult to distinguish from real leather, at least on first glance. Better-engineered leatherette is again becoming a popular choice, and is ever being marketed as a premium feature by some auto makers, such as Volkswagen, and seems to be a legitimate material in designer fashion. Once very popular in the automotive industry when it was merely called vinyl, it fell out of favor due its tendency to become very hot in the sun, very cold in the winter, and cause sweating. Leatherette upholstery is a an alternative to both real leather and cloth. The term “leatherette” is one of the many names for fake leather, (others are fake leather, pleather, PU leather), but “leatherette” is most often used in the automotive and furniture industries. Synthetic leather, first produced in the early 1900s, has experienced several waves of popularity and ridicule. It's made from treated and tanned animal skins, most often cattle hides, and is sold in different forms ascending price and quality, including: bonded leather (the cheapest), split leather, corrected-grain leather, top-grain leather, and full-grain leather (the highest quality and most expensive). Modern high quality leather is soft and comfortable, while still being extremely durable. Not biodegradable, use of non-renewable materials. Preparatory, tanning, and crusting stages.īonding of base fibers and PVC or PU cover, treated for texture and colored.įactory farming, use of chemicals in production. Leatherette-type artificial leather usually associated with automotive upholstery, cheaper handbags, shoes, furniture. ![]() Higher maintenance, requires treatment to prevent aging.Īutomotive interiors, furniture, jackets, work boots & gloves, handbags, shoes. Mostly, unless made from scraps of leather Prone to scratches but better for allergies because leather does not trap allergens like pet dander Wide variety of colors as it can be dyed easily. Less variety most often shades of black and brown, sometimes white. Less durable (5-6 years), but more waterproof and ages better. Very durable (10-15 years if maintained well), used in rugged conditions, but will fade in sun and degrade with age. Less expensive than real leather (3-10 times the cost of leather) Premium price luxury item much more expensive compared to fake leather. Natural or synthetic cloth fibers covered in PVC or polyurethane (PU) scraps of old leather ![]()
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