Is Bonded Leather ‘REAL’ Leather?
Confused? Have you just been to look at a new lounge and the salesperson has tried to sell you Bonded leather? But what is bonded leather? If its called leather it must be leather, right? Well unfortunately this is not really the case. Real leather is actually a full hide, or skin from a beast, be it cow or buffalo. Real leather can either be full hide or split, aniline, semi aniline, corrected grain, but definately NOT bonded leather.
Ok, So What is Bonded Leather?
Bonded leather is essentially chipboard. It has been mixed and “bonded” , or glued to look like real leather, but has a nylon scree between it and its Poly Urethane (PU) coating. Bonded leather is normally stiffer or not as soft as real leather. Of course, there have been many comments regarding the lack of longevity of bonded leather. We have many customers come and see us commenting that they bought a bonded leather lounge a couple of years ago and it is peeling. The reasons for this range from the actual quality of the ‘Bonded leather’ to the climate in Australia causing the peeling. Who knows?
In the end Devlin Lounges believe it is better to sell a good value for money real leather rather than a cheaper option that purports to be real leather. Mind you, we also believe Synthetic leather, “Faux” leather, or “PU” leather is false advertising. Again, that is why it is important to educate yourself before purchasing your new lounge so you know what you are getting, and make an informed purchase decision.
I hope this post has at least reduced some of the confusion around what is real leather. For the sake of saving some money, it could be a better option to buy a real leather lounge and not have to deal with the quality issues that seem to surround synthetic options.
