Have you found a product made of "PU leather" and want to know what it means?
In this article you will find all the information about this material.
I will explain the meaning of this label, which can easily fool you when you are about to buy a leather product, especially if the information given by a seller is scarce and confused. And, above all, you will immediately recognize those descriptions whose only purpose is to mislead you.
Here is what you will find in this article:
- What is PU leather?
- What does PU leather mean?
- What are the differences between PU leather and genuine leather?
- How to recognize PU leather?
Let us begin! The complete guide to avoiding scams.
What is PU leather?
Before revealing what this label means, I want to show you how common the tricks are with this wording.
During my 20 years of craft work, I have noticed many times how little information lies behind some of the terms used in the leather world.
Have you ever read the term "PU leather" on the label of a bag or accessory?
Many customers have come to my workshop telling me they bought an item made of leather but that was actually PU leather, thinking there was no difference between the two.
So, out of curiosity, I wanted to do some research online to see how thorough product descriptions were, focusing especially on some well-known sales platforms.
I searched for the term "PU leather" and analyzed the results.
More than half of the products had a misleading or even untruthful description.
Almost all of them listed the feature of being made of "genuine PU leather", without specifying what that means.
This alone could confuse someone, making them think they are buying a genuine leather accessory.
But the worst was yet to come.
Look at these two product descriptions... Can you find the contradictions?
If you did not notice anything, do not worry... it is completely normal!
As I told you at the start, using certain terms makes it easy to confuse someone.
Let me explain...
How can they write that the product is made of high-quality leather or ecopelle, and then below say it is PU leather?
You can try searching for these descriptions yourself; you will find dozens of them.
This makes no sense at all!
Do you know what it should say?
Fake leather.
That is what "PU leather" is.
The Italian legislative decree of 9 June 2020 banned all those words that do not indicate materials made from genuine leather (imitation leather, PU leather, pineapple leather, vegan leather, etc.), precisely to avoid confusion.
This is the first thing a seller should tell you, without trying to associate other terms that have nothing to do with this material.
Let me explain why right away.
What does PU leather mean?
The term comes from the English "PU leather", which in full is "Polyurethane Leather".
The abbreviation PU therefore comes from "Polyurethane", a group of polymers used for many purposes.
The first experiments to create this substance took place in the mid-1800s.
After the studies of professors Otto Bayer and Heinrich Rinke, the company DuPont began marketing it in 1956. From that moment, the use of polyurethane grew exponentially.
You can find it everywhere around you: padding for mattresses or cushions, packaging materials and even clothing.
In fashion, products such as belts, bags and other accessories in PU leather are made mainly because of the low production cost of polyurethane.
So what we can say with absolute certainty is that it is not genuine leather!
It is just a synthetic material created from the reaction of two chemical components.
What are the differences between PU leather and genuine leather?
After explaining the meaning of "PU leather", I want to explain four differences from genuine leather and the pros and cons of choosing one or the other.
1. Sustainability.
Since PU leather is made with polyurethane, we cannot consider it an entirely eco-friendly choice in clothing, given its plastic nature and limited lifespan.
What is more, there are studies looking into the danger of some harmful components following workers’ exposure during the production process.1
As for genuine bovine leather, we should point out that it is a by-product of the food industry that would otherwise be thrown into landfill or incinerated.
That said, a distinction must be made based on the tanning technique.
The sustainable choice with the lowest environmental impact is to use accessories made with vegetable-tanned leather, made mainly in Tuscany. This type of tanning has been used since prehistoric times and happens slowly in wooden drums. It uses only plant substances such as tannins and contains no components toxic to people or the environment.
On the other hand, other types of tanning, such as chrome tanning, are highly polluting both during processing and when wearing materials tanned this way, such as a shoe.
2. Durability
The lifespan of a genuine leather bag or another leather accessory is far greater than one made of PU.
Sun exposure will slowly damage the structure of a PU leather bag until it degrades and crumbles.
You have probably had a bag start to crumble at the handles, or a belt split.
A handmade leather bag can last a lifetime if maintained with the right care.
A bit like wine: the more it ages, the more precious it becomes.
3. Ease of cleaning
While a fake-leather accessory can be cleaned even with soap and water, a genuine leather item also needs nourishing waxes to keep it in perfect condition and protect it from the weather.
4. Water resistance
The leather of a handmade leather bag should avoid water splashes, as it is not waterproof by nature.
However, you can apply sprays that make leather water-resistant, like a plastic bag, which obviously needs no waterproofing treatment.
5. Quality
The quality of vegetable-tanned leather can never be compared to plastic!
What do I mean by quality?
I mean all those values such as the beauty of the material, its durability, environmental sustainability and the centuries-old craft techniques.
This is also reflected in the price, which will inevitably be higher for a handmade piece in genuine leather. A fake-leather accessory is, on average, cheap and has far less value than genuine leather.
"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get."
How to recognize PU leather?
After explaining the features of this material, I want to give you some tips on how to recognize it.
What I am about to tell you is very important, so listen...
Recognizing PU leather will help you avoid scams and throwing money away on a product that may last only a few weeks.
As you read earlier, product descriptions are often not very clear.
This was a belt a customer brought to my workshop.
The label said "genuine leather", but unfortunately it was not!
As you can see, the layer of polyurethane was attached to a textile material. This kind of work has nothing to do with a handmade leather belt!
Warning!
Sometimes you can find a layer of polyurethane over a layer of poor-quality leather. This is the case with bicast leather, used for furniture or even clothing.
Can we consider it genuine leather?
No, so much so that some countries such as New Zealand and the UK have banned selling it under the name "genuine leather".2
You too have probably bought a wallet or a bag that soon started to crack or split like the belt in the photo above.
Let me explain...
These latest-generation materials, such as bicast leather, can be hard to tell from genuine leather for an untrained eye, and it is much easier to fool the customer.
3 ways to recognize PU leather
1. Smell never lies, or almost!
Smelling a bag or belt is an excellent method.
While leather has an unmistakable, unique scent, fake leather has no smell. In the worst cases, where a poor material was used, you immediately notice a smell of plastic and chemicals.
You can notice this especially when buying a new accessory. Try opening the packaging of a leather bag and a fake-leather bag, and you will immediately understand what I mean!
However, you should know that this is not always true.
Do you know why?
Sometimes poor-quality leathers are used that are chrome-tanned. This kind of tanning uses chemicals that can alter the classic smell of natural leather until it disappears completely.
2. If it is perfect, it is not genuine leather!
Have you ever seen a leather product with a perfect surface and pores all the same?
Let me tell you something...
It is most likely fake leather!
Genuine leather has features that differ from one piece to the next. On the grain side, that is the outer part of the leather, the pores differ in size and shape. Depending on the quality of the leather a product is made from, you may see marks made when the animal was alive. For example, lower-grade leather often has holes and scars that make it unusable for large items. These days, companies that produce fake leather have learned to replicate leather as faithfully as possible.
Look at this photo. Which do you think is the fake leather, A or B?
Difficult, isn’t it? At first glance it can be really tricky.
The correct answer is... A!
Looking at the flesh side, that is the part beneath the surface, the difference becomes clear.
3. Touch
Comparing full-grain vegetable-tanned leather with one made of polyurethane, you immediately feel the difference by touch.
Sometimes, bending PU leather slightly, you will feel that it is not so flexible and notice wrinkles forming on the surface. By contrast, a high-quality leather such as full-grain vegetable-tanned leather is flexible and does not wrinkle like polyurethane. That said, take this method with a grain of salt too, because you can sometimes have in your hands a leather that was not tanned properly and shows wrinkles on the surface.
That was my last tip.
Before you close the page, I want to tell you one last thing...
Thank you for reading all the way here!
If you made it to the end, you certainly now know more about what PU leather is and how to recognize it.
Helping you avoid even a single scam by sellers who pass this material off as genuine leather would be a great satisfaction for me and would repay all the time spent writing this article!
I believe a true artisan, but also a simple retailer, should be as transparent as possible in showing the customer how and with what their products are made.
Do you think this content was useful to you?
I would be really happy if you shared this article!
If you have questions or clarifications, let me know in the comments or write to me on my Facebook or Instagram pages, and I will reply as soon as possible!
Massimiliano, the artisan at Pelletteria Coryum.
References:
(1) Polyurethane risks: https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/potential-chemical-exposures-spray-polyurethane-foam and https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/25/toxic-chemicals-risks-infants-what-to-know
(2) Leather classification in the UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/classifying-leather
