Natural or artificial leather? Which is the better choice?

artificial leather

Our mail is overflowing with inquiries from our readers who are looking for the answer to the question of which is better, natural or artificial leather and our answer is always: it depends, so even before you start reading down we have to tell you that in this article, we do not want to convince you which of the two materials is better, but simply to point out the advantages and disadvantages of each of them, because both natural and artificial leather can prove to be the better choice in different situations. Let me explain it better.

What is natural leather? It is one of the first fabrics that was used for sewing clothes. In the past, people used the meat of animals for food and their skins to warm their bodies. Of course, nowadays things are almost the same, with the only difference being that today our choice of materials is much larger, but the textile industry continues to process this material at an enormous pace. As we said above, this is a product that is derived from animals. Most often these are lambs and calves, but in fashion design you can also find products with crocodile skin or python skin.

What is artificial leather? Artificial leather, or more commonly known as eco leather, is a synthetic product that chemically imitates the appearance of natural leather. How does it actually work? Synthetic leather is made up of two layers. Base and surface. A wide variety of textile materials are used for the basis of artificial leather, such as cotton, polyester, viscose or nylon. Wax or polyurethane is applied to this layer, and polyurethane guarantees the best imitation of natural leather at the moment.

How to distinguish artificial from natural leather? Most people sometimes find it hard to tell the difference between real and faux leather as the imitations get better and better. However, the "more experienced" among us know the difference between original and mint. Natural leather should look and behave like it! First of all, use your eyes and look at the surface of the product. Look carefully at every detail of a bag or jacket, for example, paying special attention to the raw edges of the fabric. If the product is made qualitatively, it will be difficult to find raw areas, but this will be a sign of genuine leather. If you still find such places, touch the place at the seams. If it is fluffy and resembles suede, and of course does not peel, then most likely you are looking at natural leather. If you notice delamination or threads protruding from the base of the material, it is most likely a synthetic product.
Lightly press the product with your finger. Natural leather, just like our skin, would quickly regain its previous state without appearing "wrinkles" and cracks in the place where we pressed. Artificial leather, on the other hand, does not have this elasticity, and you would immediately notice permanent deformations on the spot. Just to insert here that this rule applies after the pressure, and at the moment of the pressure itself, things are exactly the opposite. Artificial leather is shiny and does not change, while natural leather is slightly wrinkled.
Why are we sometimes cold and put on even more clothes? Because the body loses a lot of heat through our skin, and what is more natural for a skin than good thermal conductivity? Take the product in your hands and hold it like this for a while. The natural leather will warm up and you will feel it. Faux leather will not only keep you cold, but also make your hand sweaty.
You would hardly do this test in the store, but at home you can very easily check the authenticity of the leather goods. Put a few drops of water on the leather product. Real leather will "absorb" moisture and darken. Faux leather will not do this and will cause the water to slide over the surface.
Use all your senses. Feel the leather product. Natural leather has a specific smell and is difficult to burn. Most genuine leather products have small swatches attached to them. When you get home, you can burn the sample to see if you've been duped. Natural leather gets charred and smells like burning hair. Imitation products, on the other hand, burn strongly and give off an unpleasant smell, as if clothes were on fire. If you don't know what burning clothes smell like, you can be guided by the black thick liquid that the "natural leather" product turns into.
And of course, not always, but in most cases, the price should be your guide. Genuine leather products are expensive and luxurious, and if someone tries to push you a cheap product by convincing you that it is genuine leather, they are surely lying to you.

In short, we can say about natural leather that it creates comfort, uniqueness and luxury. The uniqueness comes from the fact that no animal with the same skin exists in nature. Products made of natural leather are strong and do not burn. Instead of aging, over time these products become softer and pleasant to the touch and should retain their structure for at least 20-25 years. What are the disadvantages of natural leather? In addition to its higher price, genuine leather becomes very unstable when exposed to the sun or water. In other words, it can change color by fading.

The disadvantages of moisture and sun have been removed with artificial leather. It does not absorb water and the sun does not affect it that much. It is easy to clean and requires almost no maintenance, which of course has its advantages over natural leather products. Artificial leather is a preferred material by many environmentalists because no animals are used in its production. However, what are the disadvantages of artificial leather? The products are not that strong and you have to replace them often. Burns easily and can cause a serious fire. Artificial leather remains artificial, and this can be felt by touch and smell. Even the most perfect imitation can affect your self-esteem if you are familiar with the origin of matter.

Where is synthetic leather used? Sewing clothes. Upholstery of sofas and chairs for restaurants, cinemas, theaters, public transport and others. For binding notebooks and phone cases. All places that get dirty easily and require regular cleaning.

Where is natural leather used? The textile industry. Upholstery of furniture and chairs and others. Natural leather is for connoisseurs of refined taste, but be careful because every single stain from wine or coffee, for example, can be extremely difficult to remove.

And since we talked about stains and cleaning, we are obliged to write a few lines about this as well:

1. We will not talk about artificial leather, because from what was written above it became clear that it is easy to clean. Just throw the clothes in the washing machine and you're done!

2. Natural leather is very capricious from the point of view of cleaning. Here, the washing machine will not help you, and even on the contrary, it can completely ruin the clothes made of natural leather. There are definitely many places that specialize in cleaning such fabric and you can quickly and easily get attention and care for your expensive coat for example. However, if you do not trust the people who work there, you can try to clean the natural leather at home. Cleaning should only be superficial. You can buy a ready-made special skin cleanser or you can easily make one at home. For this purpose, you will need liquid soap, water, a sponge and a cloth (You can also try with water and vinegar, but you must very carefully estimate the amount of vinegar). Mix some liquid soap with water and use a sponge to apply and gently wipe with the cloth. It is important that the sponge is not hard, because this can scratch the skin. If the stains are deeper and stubborn then you may need to ask for adequate help from specialists. Soap dries the skin, so after the procedure you can apply a little vaseline. As you can see, it is not difficult to clean light stains from natural leather, but when they are deep and persistent, it will be difficult to do it yourself. If you have not yet encountered cleaning such a material, I advise you not to experiment but to trust the specialists.





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