Vegan leather, the rebirth of pleather

Since its creation decades ago, pleather — fake leather — was known as a cheaper alternative for a more expensive product.

However, a negative connotation was also associated with the material since, despite its appearance, it was still a fake product.

Textile companies create pleather by bonding polyurethane, a plastic-like substance commonly used for foam insulation, to fabric. Despite the bad reputation, it is used at all price ranges.

Recently, I have seen a resurgence in the poly-product, but I noted the former cheap material transformed into a hot trend.

Vegan leather is the new name for pleather. I assume the name was created to give the infamous fabric a better connotation.

Unfortunately, while I think the name is clever, I’m not buying it.

I recently saw a vegan leather jacket in stores, and I noticed the material was the same as that of any other fake leather jacket: polyurethane.

Initially when I saw the label I thought the fabric was made out of a more environmentally-friendly material. For me, that is just what the word “vegan” does.

Sadly, aside from the name change, vegan leather is not a new product.

If you pick up a vegan leather product, compare it to an identical product — likely at half the price, it will be exactly the same.

It is not surprising. There are only a few ways to make a fabric look like leather, and all of them use the foam material.

So in reality, vegan leather is simply a marketing gimmick.

Do not be fooled by the label. The only reason to spend a larger sum of money on fake leather is if it is a higher quality product.

Yes, in my opinion there are grades of fake leather. You can either spend a small amount of money and buy something that feels like grainy Tubberware, or you can spend a large amount of money and buy fake leather that is almost equal to its genuine counterpart.

Either way, don’t be pulled in by a nice tag bragging about so-called vegan leather. It was made out of a liquefied agent that was solidified and molded.

If you want to buy a fake leather jacket because you want a more affordable price, go for it. If you want to buy a fake leather purse because you are against the use of animal leather, go for it.

But if you want to buy a pair of leather shoes solely because they are vegan, put them down and walk away. You will waste your money.

­— audperki@indiana.edu