Here´s a personal observation on textile terminology and slick marketing tricks. If they call it “vegan leather” it is really plastic, usually polyurethane (labelled as PUR or PU). It is a soft surfaced fake leather that looks and feels like the real thing, but it is 100% plastic. There is no such thing as vegan leather folks. If it is leather it comes from an animal. Vegans don´t use animal originated products.

Marketing gurus claim Pleather (Polyurethane) is comfortable to use and usually affordable. Reality is, it is hot and sweaty as it is plastic, it does not last or get a worn surface like real leather does. Nor does it do well in cold weather. So if it is a shoe, jacket or a bag and you´re planning to wear it in below zero (Celsius) temperatures, leave in the stores if you want a quality, long lasting and environmentally friendly item. Manufacturers that don’t use real leather in their products currently call plastic leather pleather (sounds much more fashionable than faux leather!) and give it a long list of positive qualities. “It doesn’t wrinkle. It travels really well. It’s waterproof, so if you wear it in the rain it completely repels water. There’s something sort of magical about its properties.” All true, but it is still plastic. PETA celebrates faux leathers as “cruelty-free”, but conveniently ignores the fact that making new plastic requires loads of chemicals that pollute our environment, so it cannot exactly be called green or sustainable. In my mind real vegetable tanned leather beats this hands down. Yes folks the tannins used in this leather tanning process are vegetable based.

A good tip is that if the material tag says something you don´t know, ask. “What is PU?” “It´s polyurethane.” “What is it?” “It´s vegan leather.” “But WHAT is it made of And how?” “It´s basically plastic…” Not complaining really, but just making a point. Anthropologie for example sells PU as “vegan leather” and Stella McCartney pleather.

On just a side note, I´d love to see real leather to be labelled as what it is and plastic labelled as plastic. Not just as “leather” (which is commonly used in Asian production when it is really pleather), but as “cow leather” or “pig leather”. It would make it all much more clear.