What Is The Best Faux Leather? The Ultimate Guide

What Is Faux Leather?

Faux is the French word that means “fake” or artificial. The term fake or faux that is associated with synthetic leather has nothing to do with the quality of the material itself, except for the fact that faux leather is not real leather sourced or a by-product from the meat industry. Faux leather is marketed under so many names to avoid using the term fake, artificial, or synthetic. Some of the common names of faux leather are pleather, leatherette, vegan leather, bonded leather, leather gel, and a host of other fancy names.

Types of Faux leather

The two primary types of faux leather construction that have flooded the market today are Polyurethane leather (PU) and Polyvinyl leather (PVC or Vinyl).

Polyurethane leather and polyvinyl chloride are both plastic-based faux leather commonly known as pleather.These two are going to be the main focus for this article since 9 out of 10 faux leathers on the market is going to be either of these two synthetic leathers.

The 2 Main Types of Faux Leather: PU vs PVC

PVC is made using two separate synthetic materials. The fibers of PVC are constructed from very strong polyester fibers. These fibers are subsequently coated with vinyl, made from polyvinyl chloride and plasticizers (phthalic acid). The vinyl is then melted onto the surface of the fibers causing it to seal it off and resulting in a waterproof surface that is flexible and tough at the same time.

In recent years, PVC has become very less popular due to the high level of pollution in the manufacturing processes. But it’s still quite common in a lot of industries like the automobile industry in terms of seat upholstery manufacturing.

In the late 1950s, chemical companies like DuPont began developing polyurethane products.The polyurethane material is made by backing or coating a piece of fabric like polyester, woven textiles, nylon, cotton, or leather shavings with a flexible polymer and then finishing it to look more like natural leather.

In some instances, PU leather is going to be made of the top grain of natural leather with its top layer covered with a layer of polyurethane.

There are a couple of things that are going to determine the quality of polyurethane leather. Some of these will be the different quality grades and thickness of the resin used, and various different production processes it undergoes

What Is The Best Faux Leather: PU or PVC?

There are a couple of factors that are going to help determine which of the above faux leathers is best. These factors are especially going to help you personally determine which combining factors makes a particular one not only the overall best but also good and suitable for your specific needs. In light of this, the following chart will going to do a comparision based on the look and feel, comfortability, usage, and host of other very important factors.

PU Leather vs Vinyl: Which Is Best – Summary