what is vegan PU leather, where is it made & what is it made of?
Polyurethane or PU leather or pleather is made from synthetic plastic polymers and fossil fuels using large amounts of chemicals, water and energy to produce. A plastic coating bonded to a fabric backing is the most common method. These materials undergo intensive chemical processing to add color, texture and protective coatings so they can look and feel like leather.
PU leather is “safer” to burn than PVC or vinyl as it contains significantly lower levels of VOCs.
As these products end up in the landfills and start to break down, they leak these harmful dioxins back into the environment polluting our natural resources; our soil, drinking water, and our food chain impacting animals and humans, causing irreparable damage. PU leather takes over 500 years to decompose. Vinyl or PVC never decomposes.
There are different companies and brands that make PU leather around the world. 42% of PU leather is made in China. Below are brand name PU leathers
Alcantara - Italy
Clarino - Japan
Fabrikoid from DuPont - USA
Naugahyde - USA
Rexine - UK
Kirza - Russian
Aiya ayiA does not use any of these synthetic materials. We only use vegan plant leather that is so natural you could eat it!
