YSK: The term "Genuine Leather", it is not to reassure you that their product is made of leather, rather its the name of the lowest grade of leather a company can use.
Why YSK: The term "Genuine Leather" is a marketing term to sell the lowest quality leather possible.
When purchasing a leather product, look for full grain leather or top grain leather instead. These will provide a much higher quality cut of leather that will look and feel much better and last for much longer.
Not quite. The truth is, there is no universally recognized grades of leather. But when bragging about quality, genuine leather is the lowest bar they can go (other than bonded leather, which isn’t fully leather but just a veneer over fabric.
Full grain or top grain is generally what you want.
Also, some are concerned about the use of an animal product. The vast majority of leather is a byproduct of the beef industry. It is skin that would otherwise go to waste. And it is also far more environmentally friendly a material than many alternatives, which are often made of plastics.
Yeah, honestly you should buy leather products based on brands than on description of "genuine" leather.
And agree, real leather is a much better alternative to the ridiculous amount of micro-plastic synthetic leather generates, especially since it'll last you decades if you maintain it well.
You should also know that technically only the piece marked as genuine leather needs to actually be genuine leather. If you buy something made with multiple pieces, the rest could be made from any material so long as that one piece is genuine.
You know what's cool about "natural flavors"? They just have to be found in nature to call them that. They can be synthesized in a lab and still be a "natural flavor."
P.S. don't fall for the naturalistic fallacy. This comment is about tricky vocabulary used by the food industry. Whether or not a chemical is found in nature has nothing to do with whether it is good or bad for you. Arsenic is natural.
It's breathable but works in both warm and cold weather. This makes it ideal for spring and autumn. It's easy to clean although it's also hard to maintain (you have to oil it and protect it against rain). It lasts for very long if you care for it unlike fabric or fake leather, so a leather jacket can be worn for decades and still look and feel great.
My best guess (not in the community or anything) is that leather does better at being durable—especially if you treat it well and condition it regularly?—than cloth and plastic-leather alternatives, which break down. I know leather is meant to be very durable and have good “properties,” but I can’t be specific.
I’ve had a leather belt for about 25 years now that I bought for like $10, wear it multiple times a week. In all those years I’ve gone through multiple other belts that haven’t lasted.
Far as I see it, leather belts are the most economical and better for the environment than constantly manufacturing lesser lasting belts.
It is something people think they want because it is more expensive and in higher trim levels in cars. But when your car is parked in the hot sun the leather feels like it burns and in the winter is freezing to the touch. Leather also doesn't breath so you end up sweating more and if your are not wearing long pants your leg will stick to the seat. Cloth is so much better functionally. Cloth also lasts longer than the fake leather they put in cars. Cloth won't peel like the fake leather.
I like how leather feels like and the unique look when it's aged or beaten up. Works great with wallets, belts, shoes... but not so much your couch, especially when it's hot and humid.
Mostly people like it because it's expensive and it makes them feel rich. It is more durable than cloth but that hardly matters for most of the things it's used for.
It is very useful for furniture and car seats and things like that. Waterproof and easy to maintain without absorbing too much scents or liquids from your body.
Hardly matters? Try having kids and a dog for 5 years with a cloth couch. The permanent stains and smell will be impossible to get out.
Real leather? Will hold up to everything and go for 10 more years.
Garbage leather? Will crack and tear the first time your dog gets on it.
Leather has issues (Ethical issues with how we treat cows. Elitists issues putting leather on every surface of their car whether it needs it or not, etc). But quality leather matters, and does make a difference in durability.
Isn't house dust mainly skin and leather also skin? Admittedly leather is dead skin that's not being replaced any more, so perhaps without a process of replacement it also somehow lacks the shedding?
I thought "genuine" was the middle grade, with "bonded" being the lowest. Bob's Furniture used to market "genuine bonded leather" sofas which I found both clever and infuriating.
Bonded leather is less than 20% real leather and made from scraps and fibers of genuine leather combined with binders. It’s generally not as durable as genuine leather.
In one of those 70s Fat Albert episodes, I think it was Rudy who one day showed up wearing a jacket of "genuine imitation leather". That term has stuck with me for decades.
All I can say is that it's still at least leather. Most things (e.x., belts) will say "manmade leather" or "manmade materials" and they are fake and break. The genuine leather belt I have has been working for 4 years without snapping.
So genuine leather is made of nutsacks, udders, and assholes pressed together with a veneer piece of taint stretched over it to make it look like full grain leather.
Yeah I have a cork-leather wallet, it's awesome. Lasting better than my prior two supposedly leather ones. Not sure it would work as a belt though, idk
For example, leather in second hand products it's great because it's durable and often high quality. And, whatever you do, the animal has already been killed and paid for.
I would also buy leather products if it's for something that I intend to use for many years. It sort of offsets the environmental damage from buying multiple synthetic products.
In the right context, leather goods are much more durable and sustainable than synthetic alternatives. That said, leather is a co-product of the meat and dairy industry which is currently ridiculously unsustainable. Leather for leathers sake in designer goods and such is ridiculous.
I think it's because it's irrelevant for someone who would be interested in leather (and this YSK). I'm sure they're well aware of where leather comes from. I will say, though, that if cows are getting murdered for food, then they might as well use the whole animal instead of letting it go to waste.
I wonder what people who upvote this are thinking, obviously the point is moot unless you are also vegan. And who upvotes someone going “meat is murder” in the comment section.
I like to think myself open-minded, but I'm also a meat eater. It really is just a matter of self control and convenience. I know humans eating meat in most developed countries is completely unnecessary. I know farming methods are cruel and environmentally damaging. It's just tough to shake off the habit of craving a nice chicken breast or steak, especially since I lean towards a very high protein a diet.
I'd go far enough to say it used to not be murder, but now we only kill animals for luxury.
It seems so odd too because if I didn't know better, I'd assume "Full or Top Grain" was lower quality than "Genuine Leather" just by how the phrases sound.
Don't buy leather. Cows are sentient beings with their own subjective experience. Actions that inflict unnecessary harm upon others should be reconsidered.
If you downvote, you must have a justification for buying leather and I'd love to hear it.
Justification: I like to eat cows, they taste good. Might as well use the skin when the animal is killed anyway. Also leather is a really good material for a lot of things.
I love meat, I like a good leather jacket. I want a world where we take good care of our animals, take no more than we need and then use the entire animal as efficiently as possible. Reality however is a lot more cruel and wasteful. It is everyone's personal choice but I chose to stop purchasing cow and pig products.
the harsh truth of this existence is that some life kills other life. its just the way it is. from the cellular level all the way up to orcas killing seals. its natural and fine imo. of course we shouldn't go out of our way to inflict unnecessary pain and suffering. but if im going to eat a cow which i do regularly, then im also going to use every part of the cow because its the right thing to do. including its skin to make myself a nice leather knife sheath or a nice pair of leather boots. leather is an excellent material for all kinds of things humans can use.
Why do you think it's wrong to waste part of a cow? It's clear you think they deserve moral consideration, but you don't need leather or meat, so it is automatically unnecessary pain and suffering. Many terrible things happen in nature, rape and killing and eating babies etc. We don't use what happens in nature as moral justification.
Not sure about the pagan part I'll be happy to switch once something can really take its place, might have to be lab grown or something, but I'm really looking forward to the open source spider silk yeast being worked on.