What is Bonded Leather?

Just like silk, cotton, stone, wool or any other natural product, leather has been a valued commodity throughout centuries. Leather continues to grab a hold of an ever-growing share of the upholstery market due, in large part, to the available colors, ground-breaking textures, and finishes for this remarkable material. The word leather gets thrown all over the place when describing today's upholstery such as sofas or sectionals. There are quite a few different types of leather but for price-conscious customers, bonded leather seems to be the latest craze. What exactly is bonded leather?

Today, most of leather upholstery is sold in four distinctive forms:

Full-grain refers to those hides which haven not been significantly altered beyond hair removal. They haven't been buffed or sanded in order to remove natural flaws on the surface of the hide. This is the highest quality type of leather and you can see all of the imperfections and markings on it. That's the beauty of it. Over time these types of leathers develop a patina which is considered a desirable trait.

Top-grain refers to hides that have been sanded, buffed, and finally coated with a stain-resistant finish. Unlike full-grain hides, top-grain will not develop patina over time; however they have better stain-resistance than full-grain hides.

Corrected-grain is a hide that has had its imperfections and blemishes removed just like top-grain but also it has been covered with a new artificial, uniform grain. This artificial grain is created using various finishes such as pigment and semi-aniline.

Split is pretty much what it sounds like. The hide has been split from its upper layers. Splits are the layers that are closest to the flesh. Usually, and artificial layer is added to it and this type of leather is referred to as bycast leather. Often times these splits are used to make suede.

For some more commonly used types of leather check out this link: terminology for leather sofas.

Now, what is bonded leather?

Bonded leather is different from all of the above. When genuine leather hides are used to upholster sofas, for example, inevitably there will be smaller left over pieces or scraps which need to be disposed of. These left over leather scraps are combined with adhesives and other substances. This is the backing material of a bonded "leather" product. That's right. This new substance of scrap leathers in combination with adhesives will not be the surface. Now, a layer of polyurethane, more commonly known as vinyl, is placed onto this new substance. To make all of this appear like leather, the surface is stamped to give it a texture similar to an actual leather hide. The result is a product knows as bonded leather.

Therefore, the actual "leather", or leather scarps, in this case, is the backing of this material but technically, it is not real leather. Because of the misleading name, many consumers think that it's genuine leather when in reality it is not. Countless furniture stores do, in fact, try to educate the consumer about this new product. Is it necessarily bad? No, not really. It is different however. The price of it is the lure for most consumers. It's environmentally friendly because it's made from scraps which would have otherwise been disposed of. Unlike genuine leather, it doesn't contain any natural markings or variations. It's pretty consistent. To clean it, you simply wipe off the stain. Once can understand the lure.

This fairly new product starting being introduced into the marketplace around 2007 and it has received favorable reviews as far us durability. Will it last like genuine leather? It's too early to tell, but it probably won't last as long nor will it stand up to the normal wear and tear like genuine leather. It is a great value though since it's significantly less expensive than genuine leather. For the price-conscious consumer that wants the look and feel of leather but not the price, this is the perfect product. However, for those looking for a lasting leather sofa, genuine leather is a better upholstery choice. In the end, you have to realize how the furniture will be used and how long you expect it to last. The choice is yours to make.