Do You Know What the Classifications of Leather Are?

Nowadays, leather is widely used in the production of various products such as clothing, footwear, furniture, bags, etc., and the development of the leather industry has become more complete and standardized. At the same time, digitalization and environmental protection have also become important concerns for the future development of the leather industry. Today we will talk to you about what is leather and what are the classifications of leather.

Leather, referred to as leather, is a biological material with excellent physical and mechanical properties, comfort, and degradation stability, which is made from raw hides that keep the original basic structure intact and undergo a series of physical and chemical processing. In our daily life, if leather is involved, it will look more upscale and beautiful.

Leather can be divided into two categories: real leather and artificial leather.

Genuine leather, as the name suggests, is leather made from animal skin. Animal skin is composed of natural protein fibers tightly woven in three-dimensional space. It has a grain layer and certain properties such as breathability, strength, and warmth retention.

According to factors such as different animal skin sources, processing methods, and uses, real leather can be divided into many different types. Common real leather classifications include:

1. Cowhide: comes from cow skin and is one of the most common and widely used leathers. Cow leather is usually thicker, wear-resistant, and durable, and is suitable for making various durable goods.
2. Sheepskin: Comes from sheep skin. It has a soft texture and a delicate feel. It is suitable for making lightweight products such as clothing and gloves.
3. Goatskin: comes from the skin of goats. It has a tough texture and good wear resistance. It is often used to make shoes, handbags, and other products.
4. Pigskin: Derived from pig skin, it has a thick texture and good durability. It is often used to make work gloves, belts, etc.
5. Alligator/Crocodile leather: comes from the skin of crocodiles or crocodiles. It has a special scale texture and luster. It is very expensive and is often used to make high-end leather goods.
6. Snakeskin: Skin from snakes. It has a unique appearance and texture and is often used to make fashion accessories and decorations.
7. Fish leather: Skin from fish, such as carp, trout, etc., has a unique luster and texture and is used to make high-end fashion products.

The characteristics of genuine leather are that it is not easy to deform when exposed to water, does not dry out, is not easy to shrink, is resistant to chemicals, and is anti-aging. However, real leather is unstable, has uneven size and thickness, and is difficult to rationalize processing, so the price is relatively expensive.

Artificial leather, also known as synthetic leather, is a type of leather made from artificial materials that looks and performs like natural leather but is more durable, easier to process, and less expensive than natural leather. It is usually made by using fabric as the base and forming a polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, and other synthetic resin film layer on woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, or non-woven fabrics using calendering, casting, coating, and dry processes.

The characteristics of artificial leather are that it is similar to natural leather in appearance and feel, is cheaper than real leather, and is more wear-resistant and waterproof in quality. Therefore, it is widely used in many fields and is quite popular. For example, in manufacturing Artificial leather is widely used as a substitute for natural leather in fields such as shoes, bags, furniture, and car interiors.

Common artificial leathers include artificial leather and synthetic leather.

Artificial leather

Artificial leather is a kind of imitation leather fabric made by coating polyvinyl chloride resin (PVC) on a woven base fabric, knitted base fabric, or non-woven fabric, and finishing it by calendering and other processes.

According to the structure of the plastic layer, it can be divided into two types: ordinary leather and foam artificial leather. The latter is based on ordinary leather, using a foaming agent as a compounding agent to form many continuous, different, small, and uniform bubble structures in the polyvinyl chloride resin layer, thereby making the artificial leather feel soft and elastic. , close to real leather.

In terms of color, pigments are added when preparing the resin, and the prepared glue is added and stirred thoroughly. This colored glue is scraped onto the base fabric to form artificial leather with a uniform color.

In order to make the surface of artificial leather have an appearance similar to natural leather, patterns similar to leather grains are often rolled on the surface of the leather, called embossing, such as imitation sheepskin, cowhide, and other patterns. When artificial leather is used as clothing and shoemaking fabrics, it is required to be light and soft. The base fabric is knitted and has better-wearing performance.

Compared with natural leather, artificial leather has better durability, good strength, and elasticity, is stain-resistant and easy to wash, does not burn, does not absorb water, has small deformation, does not discolor, and has strong adaptability to the wearing environment. Since the width of artificial leather is determined by the base fabric, it is larger than natural leather. Its thickness is uniform, its color is pure and uniform, it is easy to cut and sew, and its quality is easy to control.

However, the breathability, moisture permeability, and wear resistance of artificial leather are not as good as those of natural leather, so the clothing made from it has poor comfort. After repeated friction or long-term use, the surface plastic coating will peel off, exposing the base fabric, and thereby destroying the imitation leather effect.

Synthetic Leather

The surface of synthetic leather is mainly polyurethane, and the base material is non-woven fabrics made of polyester, cotton, polypropylene, etc. Both its front and back are very similar to leather and have a certain degree of breathability. Synthetic leather has a beautiful luster, is not prone to mold and insects, and is closer to natural leather than ordinary artificial leather. Synthetic leather has a smooth surface, consistent thickness, color, and strength, and is superior to natural leather in terms of waterproof, acid and alkali resistance, and microbial resistance.

DuPont first successfully researched synthetic leather in the United States in 1963. It is polyurethane synthetic leather (referred to as PU synthetic leather). This synthetic leather uses synthetic fiber non-woven fabric as the base, reinforced with fabric in the middle, and soaked with natural Leather collagen fibers to form a similar polyurethane elastomer solution.

Since the capillary action formed by the interweaving of non-woven fibers is conducive to the absorption and migration of moisture, synthetic leather can partially express the breathing characteristics of natural leather. Later, DuPont transferred the patented technology to Kuraray and Toray in Japan.

In the 1970s, non-woven fabrics developed processes such as needle punching and bonding, which gave the base material a lotus root-shaped cross-section and a hollow fiber shape, achieving a porous structure that complied with the network structure requirements of natural leather; synthetic leather The surface layer has been able to achieve a microporous structure polyurethane layer, which is equivalent to the grain surface of natural leather so that the appearance and internal structure of PU synthetic leather are gradually close to that of natural leather, and other physical properties are also close to the indicators of natural leather.

After the birth of microfiber, a newer type of artificial leather appeared, also called “microfiber leather” in China. Its three-dimensional structural network of non-woven fabrics creates conditions for synthetic leather to catch up with natural leather in terms of base material. This product combines the newly developed PU slurry impregnation and composite surface layer processing technology with open pore structure to exert the wicking effect of island-type ultrafine fibers, making the ultrafine fiber PU synthetic leather bundled ultrafine collagen fibers. Due to the inherent moisture absorption and breathability properties of natural leather, it is comparable to high-grade natural leather in terms of internal microstructure, appearance texture, physical properties, and people’s wearing comfort.

Artificial suede

Artificial suede is also called imitation suede and artificial suede.

Artificial suede for clothing requires a fine and uniform suede appearance like suede, as well as soft, breathable, and durable properties. Faux suede can be made from polyurethane synthetic leather with a brushed surface. Its base fabric is made of microfiber non-woven fabric in chemical fibers. Faux suede can also be made by flocking fabric. Flocking is to consolidate short-cut natural or synthetic fibers onto a base fabric coated with adhesive, so that the surface of the base fabric is evenly covered with a layer of velvet, thus producing a deerskin-like velvet effect.

In addition, another method is to brush special warp-knitted fabrics to make the surface of the fabric appear dense and fluffy. Nowadays, warp-knitted fabrics, woven fabrics, or non-woven fabrics produced from ultra-fine chemical fibers are used as base fabrics. After being treated with polyurethane solution and then sanded, the artificial suede made looks like a natural suede. It is soft, lightweight, has fine velvet, and has good moisture permeability, making it an ideal material for making imitation leather clothing.

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