Faux vs Real Leather Which is Better – A Complete Guide
What Is Faux Leather?
Faux leather is petroleum-based artificial leather. It provides various features like real leather, which makes it easier to create without harming any animals. Like real leather, faux leather is soft and highly water-resistant. This property makes it stain-resistant and easy to clean and maintain. Even though artificial leather is less durable than real leather, it can be used in homes with children or pets because of its scratch and cut resistance.
How Is Faux Leather Fabric Made?
There are various processes that the manufacturer uses to make faux leather, but it is commonly made from the pulp of paper and special plant-based resin material to make it more durable. In today’s time, the majority of faux leather available on the market is made from plastic materials. Two types of plastic materials are used to make faux leather, polyurethane (PU) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Even though these are 2 different types of plastic their manufacturing process is almost the same as given below:
1. Obtaining the Main Material
Many faux producers use polyester or cotton as the main material of their leather. These base materials are usually rough and porous and sometimes also need special manufacturing. Sometimes manufacturers also make their base material by themselves for creating faux leather. However, the majority of faux producers depend upon third-party productions for these materials.
2. Creating the Perfect Plastic
Faux leather producers bind their base material with the plastic that they have to chemically change by themself. For example, PVC is created from the combination of salt and petroleum. Manufacturers use the process of electrolysis to get the chlorine which is further combined with a type of alcohol, ethylene.
This combination results in the product called ethylene dichloride which is then converted into PVC. This PVC needs to be flexible to be converted into a good quality faux leather which is why a petroleum product called plasticizer is added to it making it strong and elastic.
3. Binding the Materials
After creating the type of plastic they need, these manufacturers bind it with their main material. It can be done with various processes but most commonly plastic is melted and added as a layer on the base material.
4. Cutting the Fabric
Once the layer of plastic is perfectly set with the fabric then it is cut into different shapes and sizes of needs. Various people sell faux leather after cutting them into long strips. The vegetable-based faux leather is made from a different process but different companies use their process to get the type of faux leather that they want.
How Faux Leather is Different From Real Leather?
Many people don’t know the difference between Faux leather and real leather and they get confused about which is better. You must keep one thing in mind both types of leather have their benefits and losses based on what you are looking for. if you want to know which is better firstly you should know what you need. Here are a few points to differentiate between real and artificial leather.
Production of Faux leather and real Leather
The main difference between these two types of leather is the material they are made from. Faux leather is made from plastic-based materials and then designed and colored into the product you need. On the other side, real leather is made from animals like buffalo or oxen.
Even though both are different types of leather, real leather is unique. As it is obtained from animals it contains stretch marks and scars making the product more beautiful. On the other side, Faux leather is very plain but created to look natural and forced in it or created manually.
Better Durability Faux Leather vs Real Leather
One of the biggest advantages of real leather is that it does not get damaged easily, resulting in long-lasting performance. Because it is a natural product, it always enhances the look wherever it is used.
On the other hand, Faux leather is highly popular because of its low price. It is produced in large quantities in large industries, which makes it much cheaper than real leather.
Different Features of Faux and Genuine Leather
Unlike faux leather, real leather adds a touch of luxury and feels good due to its natural smell. However, artificial leather can also be as good as real leather. It depends on what suits you best.
