There are many reasons that a person may want to consider buying faux leather as opposed to real leather. They may be concerned about the environmental impact of producing real leather and that leather is made from the hides of animals. They may choose faux leather simply because it is not as expensive as real leather. But what is faux leather, and what are its advantages when compared to real leather?
Types of Faux Leather
There are three types of faux leather. There is faux leather itself, which goes into the making of upholstery, leatherette, which is used for clothing and to upholster the seats of automobiles and koskin, which is used for consumer goods.
There are two ways to make these types of faux leather. One way uses polyurethane and the other uses polyvinyl chloride.
Vinyl Faux Leather
This type of faux leather is made from polyester fibers that are treated with coats of polyvinyl chloride and phthalic acid. These substances are melted into the surface of the fibers, which makes the resulting product durable, flexible and waterproof. This type of faux leather is easy to clean and is often seen in places where cleanliness is a priority, such as hospitals. The one drawback with vinyl faux-leather is that it becomes too hot in the sun, and skin tends to stick to it. It also cracks after hard use.
Polyurethane Faux Leather
Polyurethane faux leather is made by adding coats of a polymer to a backing fabric then treating it to resemble real leather. Backing fabric can be polyester, cotton or even shredded leather. This type of faux leather feels and looks more like the real thing than vinyl. It is soft, supple and doesn’t crack like vinyl. It also accepts patterns or designs better than either vinyl or real leather, and is more eco-friendly since it doesn’t produce dioxins. This type of faux leather is less expensive than real leather, but more expensive than vinyl.
Advantages of Faux Leather Over Real Leather
Faux leather doesn’t need as much care as real leather and can be cleaned with a cloth dampened with warm water. Water alone is enough to stain aniline and nubuck leathers, and colored stains can be disastrous. With faux leather, stains wipe away with ease.
Faux leather can look so much like real leather that they’re hard to tell apart. To tell them apart, the buyer should look at the label, which must tell them if the item is made of real leather or synthetics. The edges of faux leather are a bit too perfect and feel foamy, while the edges of real leather are rough.
The pores found in faux leather are very consistent, while those in real leather are inconsistent. Some people claim that faux leather feels a little too smooth.
Faux leather doesn’t stretch, breath or wear like real leather. The smells of the two fabrics are very different. Manufacturers have yet to reproduce the distinctive, alluring smell of real leather in faux leather. But its beauty, ease of care, cost and cruelty-free production are the qualities that attract people to it.
Faux Leather on Ethically Clothed
We do offer a number of items made of faux leather: