Synthetic leather

Artificial leather or synthetic leather is a fabric or finish intended to substitute for leather in fields such as upholstery, clothing and fabrics, and other uses where a leather-like finish is required but the actual material is cost-prohibitive or unsuitable. The term "pleather" (plastic leather) is a commonly used slang term for synthetic leather made of plastic.

Leatherette is another form of artificial leather. It is usually made by covering a natural or synthetic fabric with a soft PVC layer. Leatherette bound books and 20th century cameras are good examples of how it is used. Clothing of various kinds (including lingerie) have also been made from this material.

In BDSM, real leather is often preferred, but synthetic leather has its use for example as a cover material for (padded) BDSM and spanking furniture. It is cheaper, comes in large sizes, a wide range of colours, thicknesses and textures, and is easy to clean and disinfect.

Brand names

• Biothane: a proprietary material of BioThane Coated Webbing, made from a nylon webbing coated with TPU or PVC, designed to look and feel like leather, but be more durable, more cleanable, and more waterproof than leather.
• Birkibuc: a proprietary material of Birkenstock, made from vinyl and polyamide felt fibres and intended to imitate nubuck leather
• Birko-Flor: a proprietary material of Birkenstock, made from vinyl and polyamide felt fibres and intended to imitate patent leather
• Clarino: used in sports, gloves, automotive, upholstery, fashion, etc.
• Ecolorica: vegan leather used in sports, automotive, upholstery
• Kydex: an acrylic-PVC alloy produced by Kleerdex
• Lorica: a material patented and manufactured by Lorica Sud, an Italian tannery
• Naugahyde: American brand of artificial leather (or "pleather" from plastic leather).
• Rexine: a British proprietary brand of leathercloth used in vehicle trimming and bookbinding.
• Vegetan: a shop-owned trade name for one grade of microfibre
• Fabrikoid: a DuPont brand, cotton cloth coated with nitrocellulose

More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Synthetic_leather ]

See Also

• Leather (description)
• Leather
• Leather drive belt
• Leather crafting
• Leather working
• Leatherette
• Dubbin
• Patent leather
• Pleather
• PVC
• Rubber and PVC Fetishism
• Saddle soap
• Synthetic leather

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