What Is Faux Leather?

How is faux leather made?

Faux leather is made by coating a base fabric with a plastic, typically polyurethane (PU) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), then embossing the surface with a grain so it looks like hide. Britannica gives PU and PVC as the typical coatings and also mentions nitrocellulose-infused cotton fabric.

A 2021 study in the journal Coatings, which examined cross-sections under a light microscope, describes artificial leather in four layers:

• Topcoat: the outer finish, which sets the final look.
• Compact layer: a dense polymer layer under the topcoat.
• Foamed middle layer: gives softness and bulk.
• Textile support: in the study, knitted or woven polyester for the PU-coated alternative materials, except one with a cellulose backing.

Cheaper versions follow the same idea. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's CAMEO database describes imitation leather as fabric or paper imprinted or embossed to look like leather, on a heavy base cloth such as cotton duck or rayon, coated with plastics including vinyl, cellulose nitrate or chloroprene rubber.

Britannica dates some of the earliest leather substitutes to the 19th century. CAMEO records that PVC artificial leathers became popular for upholstery in the 1960s and 70s.

What are the properties of faux leather?

Faux leather's properties depend on the coating and the backing, so check which polymer you are buying.

• Breathability. In the 2021 Coatings study, the PU-coated textile still met the water-vapour permeability requirement of ISO 20942, the specification for chrome-tanned shoe-upper leather. Leather exceeded it by far.
• Flex resistance. The same PU-coated textile passed the ISO 20942 requirement of more than 80,000 flex cycles, as did leather.
• Strength. Leather gave the highest tensile values in the study. Coated textiles measured 9–20 N/mm², against the specification of more than 15 N/mm² for shoe-upper leather.
• Water. CAMEO describes PVC as resistant to moisture. It also notes that polyester-type polyurethanes are very susceptible to degradation at high humidity.
• Ageing. Flexible PVC is plasticised, and CAMEO notes that these oily plasticisers tend to creep and separate with time. Heat and light make PVC discolour and turn brittle.

The study tested one PU artificial leather, so this is one data point.

How is faux leather graded or measured?

Faux leather has no grading system of its own; what can be measured is coating thickness and performance against leather standards. The EU footwear Directive (94/11/EC) draws the line between leather and coated leather by thickness:

Researchers comparing leather and its substitutes test tensile strength, tear strength, flex cycles and water-vapour permeability against ISO 20942. Neither the FTC Guides nor the EU Directive requires these figures on a label.

How does faux leather appear on a label?

Faux leather should be labelled as not leather: the US FTC Leather Guides ask for a disclosure, and EU footwear law reserves "leather" for hide.

Under the US FTC Guides

• The FTC's Guides for Select Leather and Imitation Leather Products (16 CFR Part 24) cover goods such as handbags, wallets, luggage, footwear and belts sold separately from a garment.
• The unqualified word "leather" is for products made in all substantial parts of leather.
• Non-leather that looks like leather should be disclosed, for example as "Not leather", "Imitation leather", "Simulated leather", "Vinyl", "Vinyl coated fabric" or "Plastic".
• For shoes, the disclosure can be by part and predominance, for example "Upper of manmade materials and leather".

Under EU rules

• Directive 94/11/EC applies to footwear sold to consumers. It labels three parts: the upper, the lining and sock, and the outer sole.
• The material classes are leather, coated leather, textiles and all other materials. A plastic-coated fabric is not leather or coated leather.
• For each part, the label gives the material that makes up at least 80% of the surface area (upper, lining and sock) or 80% of the volume (outer sole); if no material reaches 80%, the two main materials are given.
• Labels may use pictograms or written words.

Bonded leather

Bonded leather contains shredded leather fibres held together with other substances. The FTC Guides say it should not be represented as leather. Where it looks like leather and is called "bonded leather", the Guides expect the percentages of leather fibres and non-leather substances to be stated, as in "Bonded Leather Containing 60% Leather Fibers and 40% Non-leather Substances". For footwear in the EU, re-formed hide fibres are "not leather".

Neither rule lists garments: the FTC Guides' product list does not include a jacket, and the EU Directive covers footwear only.

What is the difference between faux leather and vegan leather?

Faux leather describes what a material imitates; vegan leather describes what it leaves out: animal-derived inputs. A PU-coated polyester can carry both labels. Plant-filled materials sold as leather alternatives are also called vegan, but they are not always free of plastic.

A glossy surface proves nothing either way. Patent leather is real leather, and vinyl (PVC) can be made to look just as shiny. Real leather is tanned hide; faux leather never is.

How do you tell good faux leather from poor faux leather?

Good faux leather names its material on the label and shows no oily film, cracking or crumbling. Check in order:

1. Read the label first. Look for the plastic (PU or PVC) and, on shoes, the material of each part.
2. Look at a cut edge or seam allowance. PU artificial leather is built in layers: topcoat, dense skin, foam and fabric. A knit or weave visible on the reverse of an unlined piece means a coated textile. Leather shows a mass of hide fibres instead.
3. Flex it. Bend a strap or a corner back on itself. Fine surface cracks are a warning sign: CAMEO lists cracking among the signs of PVC degradation, and in the lab, ISO 20942 asks shoe-upper leather to survive more than 80,000 flex cycles.
4. Check vintage and stored pieces for bloom. CAMEO describes plasticisers in PVC oozing out as an oily film or white bloom that can transfer to other objects.
5. Look for discolouration or brittleness. Both are signs of PVC degrading with heat and light. CAMEO notes polyurethane foams can yellow, become brittle and crumble.
6. On bonded leather in the US, look for the percentages. Where the term "bonded leather" is used, the FTC Guides expect the share of leather fibres and non-leather substances to be stated.

How do you care for faux leather?

Keep faux leather away from sustained heat, strong light and damp, and follow the care label:

• Heat and light make PVC discolour and turn brittle.
• Polyester-type polyurethanes are very susceptible to degradation at high humidity, so avoid storing PU pieces in damp places.
• CAMEO warns that chlorine bleach may degrade polyurethane.
• Store PVC pieces apart from other items: plasticiser that oozes out can transfer to nearby objects and corrode metal.

Is faux leather sustainable?

Faux leather avoids animal hide, but that alone does not make it lower-impact. Britannica links growing demand to concern about animal welfare in the leather industry. The environmental case is less clear:

• The 2021 Coatings study found that two plant-filled alternatives replaced part of the polyurethane with agricultural by-products, but the bulk of each remained polyurethane.
• Adding those by-products raised bio-based content but showed no physical advantage, and the authors wrote that only a life cycle analysis could show an environmental one.
• PVC gives off hydrochloric acid gas when it degrades with heat or burns, according to CAMEO, and its plasticisers can migrate out over time.

For sustainable fashion claims, ask for the polymer, the bio-based share and any life cycle assessment.