The Difference Between Real Leather and Vegan Leather

At first glance, the differences between real leather and vegan leather seem negligible. On further inspection, these two textiles are clearly worlds apart. Real leather is natural, durable and timeless, whereas faux leather is perceived as an animal-friendly alternative that is entirely manmade and comes in a variety of guises. Whether you’re a conscious shopper, eco-warrior, design enthusiast or staunch vegan, understanding the differences between real leather and artificial leather is key to making informed choices about the products you use. 

Below, we break down what constitutes both genuine leather and vegan leather before exploring the properties that set them apart. We aim to inform, educate and look at why the impact of each isn’t always clear-cut. Read on to find out more about faux leather vs real leather.

What is Real Leather?

Real leather is made from animal hides. In the UK, the most common type of leather is made from cowhide, a byproduct of the meat industry. You can read more about the different types of leather in our journal, but essentially real leather is made entirely from hide, whereas bonded leather or reconstituted leather can be made from offcuts and scraps. Since any product containing even a small amount of leather can be labeled as genuine leather, learning how to identify the qualities of genuine leathers is key to making more informed and intentional choices.

What is Vegan Leather?

Vegan leather is largely a marketing term used to describe products that look like leather or have the same properties as leather albeit artificially created, and free from animal-derived materials. Many different types of vegan leather are not derived from animal hides but that doesn’t necessarily mean they have less impact than real leather. 

Fake leather is typically made by layering a plastic coating over fabric to create a malleable textile that imitates leather. The most common types of artificial leather are polyurethane leather (pu leather) and polyvinyl chloride (pvc leather), which are made from petrochemicals derived from fossil fuels. These are frequently referred to as pleather or leatherette.

More recently, plant-based leathers have become popular, with major brands adopting innovative technology to make textiles out of natural materials such as cacti, mango, pineapple leaves (Piñatex®), cork, mushrooms (Mylo™), apple skin and bamboo fibre. Whilst these leather alternatives mimic some of the natural properties of real leather, they can be labour-intensive to produce, involve high energy consumption and global transportation to source the required raw materials. 

The Properties of Real Leather Versus Fake Leather

There are a variety of reasons consumers may choose fake leather over real leather – cost, ethics and perceived sustainability are a few of the main drivers. Yet not all leathers are made equal, real or not, and understanding the differences of each is integral to making intentional buying decisions.

Below, we compare the properties of genuine leather with those of synthetic leather using various parameters. Our handy infographic also provides a visual aid for telling real leather from artificially made fake leather.

Origin

Real Leather

Real leather is made from animal hide – a byproduct of the meat industry that would go to landfill or be incinerated if not used to make leather goods. Leather hide has been valued for its multitude of benefits for thousands of years. You can read more about the history of leather in our blog. 

Manmade Leather

Manmade leather is usually fabricated from either polyester or cotton, coated with polymers such as those mentioned above to create a textile that mimics the aesthetic of leather. Polyester, polyurethane and polyvinyl chloride are made using fossil fuels, the processing of which contributes harmful gases into our atmosphere.

Plant Leather

Plant-based leathers are typically made by processing plant matter to extract fibres, which are then refined into a weaveable and constructed into textile-like materials. Sometimes a plant-based polymer or a bio-resin is used to bind the fibres together. Other types of plant-based vegan leathers use compression or heating and cooling techniques to bind the fibres together. 

Visual Properties

Real Leather

The natural patina of leather is one of the most defining properties of real leather. The grain of the hide is usually left visible, but impurities are often removed to make a more uniform textile. Over time, leather darkens and softens with use and exposure to the elements but rather than diminishing the appearance, it adds character. 

The natural colour of leather is usually a rusty brown hue. Depending on the type of tanning agents used, the hides can become darker, or more pinky with vegetable tanning, more yellowy with fatty tannins, paler with alum tanning and more grey-blue with chrome tanning. Genuine leather can also be dyed to achieve a wide range of desired colours in the final product. It is also worth noting that real leather has an authentic smell that cannot be reproduced in vegan leather.

Artificial Leather

In contrast, artificial leather lacks the same patina of real leather, it doesn’t smell authentic and can look overly uniform. Manmade leather must be embossed to create the grain pattern but this often looks too regular to be natural. And rather than aging well, synthetic leather is prone to cracking, peeling and ripping from prolonged use and exposure to sunlight, heat and moisture. 

Durability

Real Leather

Leather crafted from skin contains natural oils that provide protection against light, heat and moisture. This makes genuine leather more robust and durable than leather alternatives. Real leather goods are also fairly easy to repair, prolonging their usability. Real leather will typically last decades with careful use and proper care. Vegetable-tanned genuine leather naturally decomposes at the end of its long life.

Manmade Leather

Manmade leather lacks the inherent durability of animal hides although the plastic coating may offer some resistance to water, heat and light. Over time, synthetic leathers are more likely to deteriorate from exposure to the elements making them less durable than leather. If the item is thrown away, it will take decades to decompose in landfill as it is made from plastic-based materials. 

Vegan Leather

The long term durability of plant-based vegan leathers depends on the production methods used, but typically leather made from plants won’t last as long as real leather. The average lifespan of vegan leather can be anything from 2 years to 10 years depending on how the textile was made and finished, and how goods are constructed. When discarded, vegan leather made from plant-based constituents will often biodegrade naturally.

Texture

Real Leather 

Real leather feels sturdy, yet soft. Its warm, tactile quality makes it desirable to wear as accessories, shoes and clothing. The natural grain gives a rich texture with natural variations that look and feel luxurious. 

Artificial Leather

Artificial leather has a more synthetic feel because of the plastic coating added to the fabric. This tends to be more rigid and cooler to the touch than natural leather. The grain found on plastic-based leathers is usually embossed to replicate the natural grain of leather. Plant-based leathers have their own texture dictated by the fibres used to make them, and do not tend to be embossed with a grain like synthetic leather. 

Production

Real Leather

The production of real leather differs significantly from the production of imitation leather. Real leather goes through a series of stages to preserve and process the raw animal hides. You can read more about the production of leather in our related article. Hides are preserved, prepared, tanned, dyed and finished before turning them into leather goods. It can take months to process real leather, especially with vegetable tanning, which relies on slow tannin absorption to produce high quality, durable leather. In contrast, chrome tanning can take a day or two and is the predominant method of mass production.

Manmade Leather

Making plastic-based leather involves industrial processes and is also much faster than producing vegetable tanned real leather. Most synthetic leathers are made in large quantities in factories and can take anything from a few hours to a few days to make. 

Plant Leather

Plant-based leathers are not mass produced in the same way, and processing plant fibres into textiles takes much longer than making leather from petrochemicals. The timeframe differs according to the fibres used and how they are processed, but can take anything from a few weeks to a few months as it usually depends on drying times.

Cost

The complex processes involved in producing real leather generally make it more expensive than synthetic leathers. The same is true for plant-based leathers. It takes longer to process natural hides and plant fibres than it does to produce artificial leather, which means goods made from leather hide and plant materials are usually more costly.

The production of synthetic leather relies on low-cost materials and fast manufacturing processes, resulting in reduced production costs and cheaper final products.

The industrialisation of leather production has made real leather more affordable, but the waste produced and the intensive processes used mean the environmental impact of mass production is much higher than the slower production of artisanal leather.

Environmental Impact 

We talk about the sustainability of leather in our related blog where we discuss a variety of factors that determine the environmental impact of leather. 

Essentially, when purchasing real leather it is important to consider the lifecycle of the whole product rather than focusing on individual elements. Leather crafted using cattle hides that have been regeneratively farmed, processed at regional tanneries using vegetable tanning, and made into fully traceable products has a relatively low environmental impact. Leather made from intensively farmed cattle hides, processed using chrome tanning in factories churning out high volumes, creates more waste and has a much higher environmental impact.

The toll on the environment for manufacturing that uses petrochemicals is huge. Producing artificial leather creates high levels of carbon emissions from chemical production; incinerating waste emits harmful toxins into the atmosphere and mass production requires vast amounts of energy. All of these negatively impact our planet. 

Like genuine leather, plant-based leathers are often made from byproducts, though instead of meat industry waste, they typically utilise materials like discarded banana or pineapple leaves or mycelium, the root-like structure of fungi, commonly found as a byproduct of mushroom cultivation. Processing these fibres may consume high amounts of energy and require transporting over much further distances than artisan leather, driving their impact up. 

Summary of differences

INFOGRAPHIC HERE

Sustainable leather from Parnassus

At Parnassus, we make fully traceable leather goods from 100% real leather. From cows that have been farmed regeneratively in the Lake District to the British tannery we work with, the impact of our products is minimal and uses a byproduct that would otherwise be discarded. We believe it is impossible to mimic the properties of real leather through intensive mass production. Our core belief is that sustainably reared cattle from regenerative farms are a superior natural material – unmatched in carbon footprint, environmental impact, aesthetics, and ethical standards. 

This sets our leather products apart from those made from leather alternatives. We carefully oversee every stage of our leather – from calf to adult, to abattoir and back – coming exclusively from regenerative farms where the cattle live healthy, happy lives and actively contribute to the health of our ecosystems. For real leather goods made as sustainably and naturally as our ancestors did, look no further than Parnassus Leather.