Faux Leather:
Industry Uses, Properties, and Common Questions
Faux leather, also known as imitation leather, vegan leather, pleather, or leatherette, is a versatile, popular, and affordable leather alternative. It blends the timeless elegance of genuine leather with durability and practicality. Leatherette’s diverse properties and multiple benefits make it an increasingly popular choice across the upholstery, fashion, hospitality, and automotive industries.
The costs, environmental concerns, and ethical implications of using genuine leather, make it an unrealistic choice for many businesses. In order to lead positive change in manufacturing, it is important businesses take the lead in making more conscious manufacturing choices.
Leatherette offers a cruelty-free and eco-friendly option to leather, and brings with it many practical benefits for manufacturers and consumers alike. Read on to learn key information on the different types of faux leather and learn whether it could be the right choice for your business.
What is faux leather?
Faux leather is a synthetic material, designed to imitate the appearance and texture of genuine leather. Made from polyurethane or PVC, it eliminates the need for animal hides in the manufacturing process, making it a cruelty-free fabric choice.
This skin comes comes in various forms, including:
PU leather (polyurethane leather) – a breathable, soft, and environmentally friendly material
PVC leather (Polyvinyl Chloride or vinyl) – a water-resistant and durable fabric
Faux-leather is durable and easy to maintain, making it well-suited to the manufacture of many products. Its production generally requires fewer resources and produces less pollution compared to traditional leather tanning. This makes it a more environmentally friendly option.
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What is faux leather used for?
Faux leather has a myriad of applications from furniture covering to fashion.
It is highly popular in the worlds of fashion, hospitality, and upholstery. It is well-suited to the creation of apparel, footwear, and accessories including clothing items such as jackets, coats, skirts, pants, and shoes. It is also well adapted for bags and luggage, and home decor items such as cushions, pillows, wall coverings, and table runners. It is also popular in the manufacturing of phone cases, tablet covers, laptop sleeves, and other electronic device accessories.
Many businesses use faux leather in furniture manufacturing, especially in the marine industry due to its resistance to water and UV rays. It is used for sofas, chairs, recliners, including boat seating and covers. You can also see faux-leather on car seats, steering wheel covers, and other automotive elements.
What are the properties of faux leather?
Leatherette has a wealth of properties which are highly beneficial in manufacturing.
Leather-like appearance
Synthetic leather is designed to closely resemble the look and feel of real leather. It is possible to obtain faux leather with a variety of finishes from smooth or textured to embossed.
Durability and resistance
Leatherette is highly durable and long-lasting — in fact it is much more durable than natural leather. It is easily able to withstand wear and tear and abrasion, as well as being resistant to scratches. This makes it a popular choice for multiple industries.
Water resistance
Faux leather offers varying degrees of water resistance depending on the type. PVC-based faux-leather options are highly water resistant.
Flexibility and malleability
Faux-leather is relatively flexible, allowing it to be easily shaped and molded. It is therefore highly practical for different applications and easy to work with.
Retains colour
Faux-leather has excellent colorfastness. It retains its color even with prolonged exposure to sunlight or othr weather conditions. This means it is a practical choice for outdoor use and exposure to the elements.
Eco-friendly
Producing faux-leather generally requires fewer resources than traditional leather tanning. It also produces less pollution. This use of synthetic materials therefore reduces the environmental impact, making it a more eco-friendly option.
Animal-friendly
As faux-leather is man-made, there is zero use of animal hides. Manufacturers and businesses concerned about the ethical and moral concerns of using genuine leather, find synthetic, vegan leather a great substitute. It is animal-friendly while offering the same benefits of durability, versatility, and style.
Customisable
It is possible to produce faux leather in various colors, textures, and finishes. This variety offers designers and manufacturers a wide range of options to create custom pieces that match their specific requirements.
Faux leather industry uses
Here’s how faux leather is innovatively being used across many industries.
Hospitality industry
The use of faux-leather is common in the hospitality industry. Hotels, restaurants, cafes, and bars often use faux leather for upholstery and furniture, particularly for durable and easy-to-clean seating options. UV resistant and fire retardant vinyl leatherette, elegant polyurethane leather or easy-maintenance faux leather, are ideal for outdoor furniture depending on your needs. Or choose a smooth, soft leatherette for indoor upholstery.
Fashion and apparel industry
The fashion world also uses large quantities of faux leather for crafting clothing items, accessories, and footwear.
Automotive sector
Home Decor and upholstery
Electronic Device Accessories
Accessories and cases for electronic devices like phones, tablets, and laptops, also use synthetic leather.
Marine Industry
Faux-leather is used for marine upholstery, for example boat seats and covers. Its durability and water-resistant properties allow for long-lasting practicality. UV and sea resistant leatherette is ideal, for example colourful, durable leatherette, antibacterial faux leather, or salt and fire resistant vinyl.
Frequently asked questions
Leatherette or faux leather is a robust and hard wearing leather substitute. However, the quality and usage determines how scratch resistant it is. Lower-quality leatherette materials may be more prone to scratching, while higher-quality and well-maintained leatherette can be highly scratch resistant.
Leatherette, aka synthetic leather, is more water resistant than natural leather, however, it is not totally impermeable. It can typically withstand light moisture but you should avoid exposing it to excessive water. The type of faux leather also determines how water resistant it is.
Faux leather typically lasts between three and five years before it can begin to crack, peel, and wear. How well it lasts also depends on the quality, how it is maintained, how heavy the use, and the conditions that it withstands during its life.
Faux leather uses no animal products for its creation and is 100% vegan and cruelty-free.
Faux leather does not use as many natural resources and chemicals as the leather tanning process for genuine leather making it a more eco-friendly and sustainable option.
Your high-quality, affordable faux leather solution
If you want to get started with high-quality leatherette that actually looks and feels like leather, is vegan and eco-friendly, and won’t break the bank, Expafol can help.
With over 30 years in textile manufacture, Expafol is one of the top European suppliers of industrial fabrics. They have a wide selection of leatherette, faux leather, and vinyl leather substitutes that can be applied across a wide number of sectors.
From impeccable durability and resistance to wide colour options and elegant finishes, you will find a style to suit every need. Feel confident in the fact you are animal- and eco-friendly and phthalate-free while saving money at the same time.
Find out how to get started today.
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