The leather goods industry is flourishing, leading to the birth of different leather fashion brands. If you are planning to start a leather goods business and are wondering whether to choose genuine leather or synthetic leather, or you are simply having trouble distinguishing between the two materials, HAT+ will help you identify and understand the advantages separate disadvantages.

What is Synthetic leather and Genuine leather? Pros and cons

1. Genuine Leather

Genuine leather is a type of leather taken from animals in nature, usually cow skin, crocodile skin, ostrich skin, chamois skin, etc. All these skins will undergo the tanning process. This is also the most important step that determines the beauty and durability of the product. From cleaning the skin, to soaking, treating with specialized chemicals.
Through this process, genuine leather will increase its luster and toughness, durability over time.
Genuine leather is the material with the most applications on the market today, mainly in the furniture and fashion industries. Products made from genuine leather are often of high value and are loved by many people.

Pros:

• High durability: Over time, products made from genuine leather often do not have cracks, explosions, or skin decay. Along with that, due to its natural shine, the longer it is used, the more supple and firm the leather becomes.
• Natural Aesthetic: Each piece of genuine leather has its own natural color, with details and textures that are soft, delicate, and unique. This is also the factor that makes up the unique class of genuine leather..

Cons: genuine leather also has the limitation that the price is too high. Therefore, products made from genuine leather are often not available to everyone.

2. Synthetic Leather

Synthetic leather is also known as imitation leather, artificial leather, PU leather. Synthetic leather consists of natural and synthetic fibers, coated with a base fabric such as cotton, polyester or shredded leather with a flexible polymer and then treated to look like animal skin. Synthetic leather is usually made from polyurethane (PU), polyvinylchloride (PVC) or microfiber woven polymer blends.

Pros: 

• Waterproof: A product of a chemical reaction between materials with moisture-resistant properties such as: PVC resin, polyurethane and other materials made from PVC, synthetic leather has outstanding water resistance.
• Diversity of colors: Synthetic leather attracts the attention of users because there are many different colors depending on the tanning process during production. Therefore, synthetic leather always meets the needs of customers and is loved by many customers. prefer.
• Easy to clean: Synthetic leather is not only soft, but also less prone to dust and can be easily cleaned due to the added polish during manufacturing.
• Reasonable price: Synthetic leather is now quite popular, suitable for most consumers because of its affordable price Usually, a product made from synthetic leather is only half the price, or even lower. compared to genuine leather.

Cons:

• Low lifespan: Synthetic leather, although continuously improved, still has a major limitation that is not very durable. If used for a long time in an environment with high temperature, humidity or often in direct contact with water and sunlight, synthetic leather will quickly fade, crack, and rot.
• Chemical smell: Synthetic leather often has a characteristic chemical smell because it is manufactured from PVC, polyurethane and dye materials.
• Less natural texture: Although the embossing technology helps to create contours for synthetic leather, it still lacks the softness, sophistication and typical beauty of natural leather.

How to know the difference between Synthetic Leather and Genuine Leather?

1. Appearance

On the outside of leather, genuine leather has a softer surface. In contrast, synthetic leather often has a glossy, slightly hard and tough look compared to genuine leather. In addition, the pattern on the surface of genuine leather is also more natural than that of synthetic leather.

The inside of genuine leather is a natural suede layer, with a characteristic fiber, soft and natural. Meanwhile, the inside of synthetic leather often uses linings from fabric or other synthetic materials that are easy to recognize.

2. Fragrant

Genuine leather has a natural scent, after going through the tanning process and using it for a long time, the scent will fade and not cause discomfort.

In contrast, synthetic leather is made from PVC-based materials, and uses dyes to create colors, so it often has a characteristic scent of chemicals. This scent is quite heavy and difficult to completely remove, causing discomfort to the user.

3. Durability, water resistance, scratch resistance

Genuine leather is usually quite durable. Over the course of long-term use, genuine leather becomes more supple and firm. However, the waterproof ability of genuine leather is not appreciated, because there are tiny pores all over the skin surface. Users should limit the product’s direct contact with water. Thanks to the natural shine on the surface, real leather can minimize scratches.

Synthetic leather is manufactured from PVC-based artificial materials, so it is highly resistant to water. Along with that, thanks to the shading agent added during production, synthetic leather becomes more supple and scratch-resistant than genuine leather.

However, with long-term use, synthetic leather gradually reveals the disadvantage of low durability, which can occur rot, crack, skin explosion or discoloration.

                                                              Genuine leather is never 100% waterproof.

4. The ability to retain heat

The ability of real leather to retain heat is much superior to that of synthetic leather. With leather bags and belts, this is not an overestimated criterion. However, for fashion clothing products, this is a very important point. This is also the reason why genuine leather is more popular for winter clothing products.

5. Price

Compared to synthetic leather, products made from genuine leather will of course cost more. Usually the price will be double or even 3 times, 5 times with products made from crocodile skin, stingray skin, ostrich skin.

Therefore, genuine leather products are always aimed at high-class customers, with a distinct personal style and always want to express themselves.

With the above information, we hope that HAT+ has helped you to have more useful suggestions for choosing a business of genuine leather or synthetic leather. If you are looking for a factory to manufacture high-end genuine leather goods in Hanoi, then HAT+ is the first choice. Currently,  HAT+ has built a leather goods factory with Italian technological processes and is operated by a team of leading experts with 30 years of experience working directly from famous, traditional fashion brands. such as: Gianni Conti, Italian Production, Giovanni Group … with a team of skilled workers full of passion and enthusiasm. We are committed to producing and supplying the highest quality leather products, satisfying all the criteria of our customers.