Leather & Synthetic leather types

Many new types of materials (PU, bonded PU & PVC) are now on the market and vary in naming throughout the furniture industry. Some imitation leather names: PLEATHER, LEATHER TOUCH, BONDED LEATHER, LEATHER BOND, LEATHER LOOK, ECO LEATHER, AIR LEATHER etc. etc.

At Furniture Warehouse we are very careful with these naming and prefer to call LEATHER what it is and to remove the word leather from any imitation materials that are definitely not LEATHER.  Please be careful when offered a product with the word “leather” added in the name as this is totally misleading.

  • Leather:

or “leather hide”. Thick and durable (very expensive) : Genuine leather

  • Bonded PU:

Poly-urethane with a bonded backing to make the material thicker (medium price range). A good leather look and feel is achieved with this very affordable and durable material.

  • PU / Leatherette:

Poly-urethane. No bonded backing so the material will be thinner than Bonded PU (budget price range). A good leather look is achieved with this affordable material.

  • PVC:

Thin/ plastic material that does not “breathe” as well as PU (will cling to your skin) (low budget range). A reasonable leather look is achieved with this material