Leather has been the decoration material of popular industries like the furniture industry, car industry, and clothing industry. Generally, genuine leather tends to be more expensive. Therefore, there are two kinds of materials: PU leather and faux leather. They are both ideal substitutes for genuine leather. So which leather is better, PU leather or faux leather? The differences are as follows.
What Is PU Leather?
PU is short for polyurethane. It has been widely used in clothing, bags and suitcases, cars, and furniture for many years with various types and extensive ranges.
PU leather uses PU resin and non-woven fabrics as raw materials for production. It is the earliest man-made substitute for genuine leather. There are many advantages to PU leather. First, it is much cheaper than a genuine one. Second, it has various patterns and colors with the dyes added to the base when processing. Various patterns and colors significantly meet the requests from customers, making it a better substitute for monotonous genuine leather. Its only disadvantage is fragility. It tends to crack when it encounters a high temperature and humidity environment. However, new materials have been added to the former version with the development of new processing. It improves its durability and extends its use range to more industries like furniture.
What Is Faux Leather?
Compared with PU leather, Faux leather is another kind of synthetic leather with its appearance familiar with genuine leather. It is usually a fabric base on which a resin mixture is coated or pasted, then heated to plasticize and rolled flat or embossed. There are two kinds of faux leather: polyurethane and polyvinyl chloride. Urethane is mainly used to make bags and suitcases and the surface of seats. Vinyl is produced for products like upholstery, shoes, and so on. It is also less costly than genuine leather. Besides, it is more durable than PU leather. It can be processed with different colors and textures.
What Is the Main Difference?
We can find several differences between PU leather and faux leather when it comes to differences between PU leather and faux leather.
First, faux leather is less prone to breaking than PU leather. It has great durability and lasts long. Second, PU leather is totally vegan and environmentally friendly without the criticism of animal cruelty. Third, faux leather is easier to chop and sow. So it can be applied to softer products like clothing and upholstery.
How to Identify PU Leather and Faux Leather?
If you want to distinguish PU leather from faux leather, here are several ways.
The most convenient and efficient way is to identify it from its tag while buying furniture or shoes.
If you are afraid that the tag and producer will cheat you, you can distinguish them by their water resistance. PU leather is not water-absorbed because of its PU resin and non-woven fabrics.
Besides, there is also another way to distinguish them – their look. Faux leather looks more like real genuine leather and has natural textures. On the contrary, PU leather has a relatively artificial texture. You can easily pick out PU leather when they are put together.
Where to Buy PU Leather & Faux Leather?
Caiwing is a leading synthetic leather manufacturer, providing all kinds of artificial leather including PU leather, faux leather, PVC leather, etc. In addition, we offer custom leather according to clients’ requirements. If you want to know more about our products and our services, please feel free to contact us at
