10 ways to help you distinguish genuine leather from faux leather

Today, there are a large number of leather substitutes that imitate genuine leather. Some of them are very difficult to distinguish from the original. High-quality leatherette not only copies the texture, but also the smell. How can you identify a fake and not fall into the trap of unscrupulous manufacturers? After reading this article, you will never make a mistake again.

 

Genuine leather has always attracted the attention of consumers, both men and women. Leather gloves, shoes and bags are considered the standard of quality, comfort and style.

 

However, today there are many options for leatherette for those who do not want to wear leather products due to ethical principles or high price. Thus, a fairly large part of buyers for these or other reasons choose products made of leatherette. These materials have a similar appearance, and are often of very high quality.

 

With the advent of leatherette on the textile market, low-quality goods have also appeared. Some companies deliberately hide the fact that they make things from leatherette and present them in stores at the price of real leather jackets. Also, some fakes can be made from natural raw materials with the addition of leatherette. And in this case, such goods should cost less. However, manufacturers keep silent about hidden details and set high prices for their products.

 

Advantages of genuine leather products

Products made of genuine leather look much better and more solid than those made of leatherette. In addition, they are durable and practically do not wear out during long-term wear.

Genuine leather is very durable. For example, a travel suitcase made of leatherette may burst if you put too many things in it. This will not happen with natural material.

 

Products made of genuine leather are resistant to the environment. They are not afraid of temperature changes, wind, cold, snow and rain.

Easy to care for. Dark leatherette items are as easy to clean as genuine leather. The same cannot be said about light ones. For example, a beige leather bag will retain its natural color. It is enough to wipe it with a sponge in soapy water. And the surface of light leatherette will absorb dust and dirt, and after a while will change its shade.

 

In terms of its qualities, genuine leather is significantly superior to dermantin. Therefore, before buying new things, be sure to take this into account.

 

How to distinguish genuine leather from leatherette

So, let's look at some useful tips that will help us understand whether what is written on the label corresponds to reality.

 

Product weight

Pay attention to the weight of the product. Leatherette items are lighter than genuine leather. If you already have a similar accessory made of natural material, you can take it with you for comparison.

 

Aroma of the product

Learn to distinguish the aroma of genuine leather on Real Leather Garments. It should not have the smell of any impurities. If you smell plastic, this means that the product is made of leatherette, and of poor quality at that.

 

Seams

Pay attention to the seams of the products. Leatherette leather usually has smooth seams, while genuine leather has slightly rough seams.

 

Skin texture

Carefully examine the texture of the leather. Natural material should have pores, small marks. As with the animal itself, they should not be very neat and symmetrical. So, natural leather has an uneven surface. At the same time, it is very elastic and quickly recovers after compression of the material. Dermantin, in turn, has a smoother surface. However, with the development of technology, imitation of natural leather is becoming better and better, so we do not stop there and move on to the next step.

 

Naturalness

Genuine leather behaves like genuine (real) leather. If we squeeze it, it will wrinkle like our own skin. We can even see a slight change in color. As soon as we smooth the leather, it will regain its original appearance. Leatherette does not change its color and retains its texture under mechanical action.

 

Thermal conductivity

Put your hand on a genuine leather product, after a while the material should warm up and become warm. Artificial leather will not heat up and will remain cold.

 

Inner side

Please note that genuine leather always has two sides. Although all the above steps are focused on identifying a fake by the outer part of the canvas, the inner surface can also show us something. So, on the inner side of genuine leather there are small hairs, sometimes this texture resembles suede. Synthetic leather does not have this effect. The only thing we can find on leatherette is small threads and knitted fibers.

 

Experiment with water

Apply a few drops of water to the product. If the water starts to soak in, it means that the item in front of you is made of genuine leather. Water will simply flow off the leatherette.

Mechanical impact

Scratch a leather product a little with your fingernail and a characteristic dent will remain on it. With high-quality leatherette nothing will happen, but with low-quality leatherette the top layer will most likely come off.

Test by fire

For safety reasons, we recommend that you only do the last, final step if you have already purchased the item. After all, if you damage the item in the store, the seller will definitely not like it and you will most likely be forced to compensate for the damage or be forced to buy this item. So, choose a small piece of material hidden from view and point a lighter or match at it for a few seconds (up to 10 seconds). What will happen to genuine leather? Almost nothing, it will not burn or change color. The only thing that can happen is minor deformation and the release of gas with a mild odor. But artificial leather should quickly set, start burning or melt.

The above steps will undoubtedly help you to accurately distinguish a fake from the original and choose quality products that will serve you for a long time. Also, when choosing products made of genuine leather, you should take into account that the price tag for such things is quite high. Do not chase low prices and discounts. This creates the possibility of falling for the bait of an unscrupulous seller.