Leather is leather, PU a leather is plastic!

dotpocka

pu polyurethane
lost clients because i would not use any fake materials
any on a bike it does not protect

I can accept that leather is too heavy for the keen cyclist but so-called motor bike leathers do give a reliable degree of protection to surface areas in the event of coming off. I am amazed at the foolhardy bike/moped riders who risk losing large areas of skin in the event of a tumble.

I have the same problem with silk. I wanted a silk scarf but had to wade through several websites purporting to sell silk scarves only to find that the majority were selling scarves made with man made fibre advertised as silk.

If you don’t know honestly what something is made of it’s difficult to make an ethical choice. I would rather not buy a leather bag (I’m a vegetarian so wearing dead animals seems hypocritical plus concern for the toxic environment from the dyes for foreign workers) but PU does not biodegrade and is made from fossil fuels and toxic dyes too. It is so hard to negotiate these ethical issues! As a solution I have bought fabric bags but often they are made of synthetic fibres so fossil fuels too and cotton totes aren’t practical in rain or very smart. Vintage bags from charity shops may be better but the issues are still there! Any advice anyone?

Those who believe leather is a natural product should read about how it is produced and its toxic environmental impact. Not saying that plastic is better - far from it, but there are ethical, more sustainable products available. You have to be careful what you buy.

OP you're not the only one who finds this irritating. I was looking for a leather phone case recently, and the number of items marked as leather after a Google search, which having read the small print I discovered not to be genuine leather, was beyond a joke. There was one on Ebay that I looked at, there was absolutely NOTHING to indicate that it was PU or vegan or faux, it clearly stated 'genuine leather', but the price told me that this wasn't true. In the end, I made contact with the 'Seller', who confirmed that the product was faux leather! I wonder just how many they've sold to unsuspecting people who thought they were getting a bargain, only to have to replace it within a few months, when the surface of the 'leather', began to crack and fall off.

Leather is leather from a hide. Vegan leather and PU leather are synthetics and def shouldn’t be referred to as leather. Important whatever your ethics. Correct and informative labelling is important.

If you watched the Simon Reeve program on TV tonight and saw all the plastic waste there is, you wouldn’t be buying plastic, especially when it’s pretending to be leather.

pu polyurethane
lost clients because i would not use any fake materials
any on a bike it does not protect

What legal loophole allows manufacturers to blatantly breach the trade description act with it seems impunity?

Remember when cars had a seating material called Ambla that was supposed to be like leather. It probably wasn't as nasty as Vynide and Rexide that were used on many cheaper cars in the first half of the seventies, but it was still a form of plastic and could still get hot in the summer.

There are vegan substitutes now that look and feel good, are far more environmentally friendly and last as long as animal leather. But that’s not the point, labelling should be honest for those who want real leather and just as important, for those who don’t.

In my experience real leather treated from time to time with saddle soap or mink oil lasts a very long time. PU 'leather' not so much. And leather breathes - remember imitation leather shoes?

Don’t be fooled by the goods smelling of leather, the synthetic ones are artificial impregnated with a leather ‘smell’. There is a big industry in making artificial aromas: fresh bread, cut grass etc all made to entice you into believing something is the real thing.

It's cheating and should not be allowed.

I bought a Ted Baker bag & that smells so strongly of leather, that I have had to put it in another room at night (I put my bag next to my bed at night). Yes I bought a bag made of pu leather, flaked off after month where my arm had caught it

And plastic is made from oil! A fossil fuel which we are supposed to be cutting down on using.

Leather is made from animal hide, while PU leather polyurethane leather is synthetic and made from plastic.

They should stop calling it leather.
It’s yet another thing given a label that doesn’t reflect its true origin or original meaning.

Crossed posts. NonSpag

Polyurethane.

It’s a polymer.

PU = polyurethane
So PU leather (or pleather)!

In my experience PU leather wears badly and doesn't last.

The leather industry is terrible environmentally and for the workers due to the toxic chemicals involved. There are some “ethical” companies about though. Plastic is awful too, but again more ethical companies around.

I won’t buy leather, often it is sourced from awful suppliers. If it comes from overseas it’s likely to have come originally from places like India where the animal is often skinned alive. Italian leather is frequently sourced from there. It’s somebody’s skin. 🤢 Vegan leather these days isn’t bad quality at all. I’ve had some of my bags and shoes for years. Quality and kindness for me (and it’s cheaper)!

PS, my sense of smell isn’t quite what it was, but if unsure about whether something was leather or plastic, my nose used to be a pretty good guide.