Faux leather and microfiber are two common upholstery materials. What is the main difference between them?
What Is Faux Leather?
Faux leather is a kind of plastic product which looks and feels like real leather and can be an alternative of it. It is usually made on the base of fabric, coated with synthetic resin and various plastic additives. Faux leather can be divided into PVC leather, PU leather and Vegan leather according to its own raw material.
What Is Microfiber?
Microfiber is a man-made fiber with a small amount of wire. Microfiber fabrics are generally light, elastic, have good wrinkle resistance and are not prone to foaming. Garments made from microfiber fabrics are often tightly attached to the skin to accentuate the silhouette of the human body.
Differences between Faux Leather and Microfiber
Manufacture
Faux leather is a mixture of polyvinyl chloride resin, plasticizer and other coordination agents, coated or bonded to the fabric. In addition, there are double-sided PVC leatherettes with plastic layers on both sides of the substrate.
Microfiber is made of nylon microfiber with similar structure and performance to the bundle collagen fiber in natural leather, which is made of nonwoven fabric with three-dimensional network structure. It is made of polyurethane with excellent refilling performance and open microporous structure after processing.
Maintenance
Faux leather clothes can only be washed by hand and use water that is not higher than 40 degrees. It is more preferable to wipe it with a wet cloth and use specific detergents to clean and maintain it.
The essential point of microfiber maintenance is temperature. Microfiber clothes should be washed with warm water of not too high temperature. Compared to faux leather, the heat is more likely to penetrate microfiber when washed and ironed.
Performance
Microfiber is lighter in comparison to faux leather. It also performs well in its tear growth resistance. Microfiber has high color saturation and is suitable for making sports clothes, T-shirts and so on. Faux leather looks lustrous and feels like genuine leather, and has many excellent properties. It has high resistance to wear, scratch, moisture, so it can deal with various conditions without getting harm and aging if properly maintained. Therefore, faux leather has become one of the durable materials for many industries.
Water Resistance Ability
According to its structure, faux leather performs well in water resistance. They have a smooth surface and are generally impervious to water, making them waterproof. On the contrary, microfiber leather is composed of a large number of microfibers, forming a sea of capillary holes. It usually absorbs water and will store more liquid than other common materials.
Application and Products
The products of faux leather and microfiber are quite different. Because of the good water resistance and durability, faux leather is very popular in the shoe-making industry, upholstery, bags and suitcases, leather clothes industry and other industries. Microfiber is usually used to make sports clothes, furniture and massage armchairs.
Cost
Compared to microfiber, faux leather is much cheaper because of its accessible raw materials and mature technology. At present, the technology of microfiber belongs to few enterprises, which makes it quite expensive although they are of great characteristics. Faux leather is cost effective and it is widely accepted and applied in many industries.
Conclusion
Nowadays, because of the ideal performance and cost effective price, faux leather becomes more and more popular in the market. However, the quality will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. So, it is of great importance of you to choose a producer who is professional and experienced. Our company has professional manufacturing shops and mature technologies in making high quality faux leather. If you want to know more about faux leather, please contact us at
