The Difference Between Real Leather, Artificial Leather, and Bonded Leather for Garments 

A leather garments business has to produce high-quality products for its clients. And this will be possible when these businesses can invest in the best type of garment leather for their business products.

Mainly, there are three types of leather present in the market for garments. These are real leather, artificial leather, and bonded leather. All these three have unique differences from each other. 

A garment business owner must know the differences between all these leather fabrics. It will guide you in choosing the right type of leather fabric for producing the best quality products in the market. 

The Definition of Real Leather

Cow, goat, and buffalo hides are mostly used for real leather fabric. Genuine leather has different features to offer. Real leather comes in two variants of grains. These are full grain and top grain. 

Full-grain leathers are made up of the full skin of different animals and are often used for producing high-end consumer products in the market. 

Top-grain leather is also a very common raw material for making luxury consumer goods. Shaving the upper layer of the animal’s skin is done before tanning it to make high-quality top-grain leather. 

The Definition of Artificial Leather 

The other names for artificial leather are faux leather and vegan leather. It is a leather fabric made without any animal skin or hides. Professional faux leather suppliers make this fabric by using good-quality plant leaves and fibers.  Besides plant fibers, PVC and PU are used as raw materials for creating artificial fiber.

The Definition of Bonded Leather

Bonded leather fabrics are made by combining real and artificial leather. Different leftover scraps of real leather are combined with PU or PVC leather binders to make this.   Some leather producers also apply an extra fine coating of PU on the surface of the leather. This helps in enhancing the overall appearance of the leather and makes it more polished. 

It also helps in creating a similar texture to the real leather on this fabric.  The percentage of real leather in this fabric is something around ten to twenty percent. Whereas, most of the material in this fabric is artificial fabric. 

Unique Point of Differences Between Real, Bonded, and Artificial Leather Fabrics

There are common differences among artificial leather, bonded leather, and real leather. Let’s understand those points clearly. 

  • Fabric Longevity

The durability of each fabric varies for the other. Real leather is the most durable of all. But that does not mean that faux leather and bonded leather are not long-lasting.  With proper care and maintenance, all these three leathers will be durable enough to last for many years effectively and efficiently. 

This will help to avoid peeling or cracking of these fabrics. The fabrics will be valuable and appealing for a long time period. 

  • Appearances And Smells Of The Fabrics

The actual appearance and smell of real leather are different from artificial leather and bonded leather. Animal-made leather has a natural smell and appearance that makes it unique. 

Whereas, faux leather or bonded leather has an artificial look and smell of genuine animal-made leather fabric. Plastic polymers and different pant fibers are the base of artificial leathers. So, these leathers will commonly have a plastic or plant-like smell. Also, faux leathers are available in the widest color options for making garments.  Bonded leathers are a mixture of real leather and synthetic leather. So, their overall smell and appearance will also be the combination of both materials. It may smell like real leather whereas its texture may appear like PU leather or PVC leather. 

  • Cleaning And Maintenance Of The Fabrics

 

There is a big difference in cleaning and maintenance among all these garment leathers. Faux leather fabric is always easier to maintain than real leather and bonded leather.  Faux leathers do not absorb liquids, like animal-made leathers. This is the USP of faux leather. The fabric is waterproof, which helps in quick drying after cleaning.  Real leather and sometimes bonded leather will need treatment at least two times a year. This is necessary for protecting these fabrics from drying out. Whereas, PU leathers do not need any specific treatment throughout their life.   

Conclusion

There are many differences between these three types of garment leathers. Each of these differences has some unique value. So, it will be of great benefit for a garment business to know each of these differences. From texture and appearance to smells and maintenance, everything is different among all these three garment fabrics. Knowing each difference will help garment businesses invest in the right fabric and produce high-quality end-consumer products.   Different fabrics will help in making different types of garments. So, it is always valuable for a garment business to be well aware of the differences in these three garment leather fabrics.  

 

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