You can buy smart-looking 'leather' diaries, organizers and wallets in many High Street stores - and also in many stores here on eBay. The 'leather' used in these products is immaculate and remarkably uniform, whereas the leather hide of an animal is typically irregular and scarred. Have you ever wondered how it is possible to make such immaculate 'leather' from a natural leather hide?
These perfect leather products are often labelled 'genuine leather'. Have you ever asked yourself what manufacturers are allowed by law to label as 'genuine leather'?
A lot of what is sold as 'genuine leather' is what producers call 'bonded leather' or 'reconstituted leather'. It consists of waste leather that has been shredded into fibres or powder and mixed with a binder such as polyurethane to form a slurry. The slurry is mixed with a dye and the polyurethane surface is stamped to give it a leather texture. The final mix can contain as little as 17% leather fibre but can still be labelled 'genuine leather'. This is often what you are paying for when you buy 'genuine leather' book covers, belts, bags and furniture.
The leather that I use for my book covers is real leather. It is cut from whole hides and tanned and dyed. It shows the typical features of a natural product: it is variable and it bears the scars and other 'character features' that accumulate during the life of an animal.
Just so you know what you are buying...
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