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Zodiak

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 9, 2010
214
1
Gatineau, Qc, Canada
Hello All,

I've been reading ALOT of reviews and doing extensive product research. Alot of people have been complaining about smells and feel of something we all came to know as the famous PU Leather. I started thinking to myself, what IS PU Leather and after heating people talk about questionable smell and texture I started doing research. Here is what WIKI has to say about this PU Leather stuff

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bicast leather
(Redirected from PU leather)
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Bicast leather (also known as bycast leather, split leather or PU leather) is a split leather with a layer of polyurethane applied to the surface and then embossed. Bycast was originally made for the shoe industry and recently was adopted by the furniture industry. The resulting product is cheaper than top grain leather and has an artificially consistent texture that is easier to clean and maintain.

The use of the term "leather" in relation to this bicast treatment is considered a misrepresentation and therefore not permitted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand [1] Furniture made with bicast exhibits none of the characteristics associated with genuine leather; it will not develop a patina or suppleness nor otherwise "improve with age". With constant use the polyurethane layer will crack and split free of its backing.[2][3]

Modern technology permits up to three or four horizontal layers being taken from the one hide. The leather used in the backing of bicast is a thin, otherwise worthless, layer remaining after better quality layers have been removed for traditional leather work[citation needed] and contributes nothing to the look and feel of the end product.

Furniture manufacturers say that the main benefit of bicast leather is its price. Lower grades of leather can be used during the manufacturing process and treating with polyurethane gives a uniform shine and a long-lasting "like new" appearance. Bicast leather looks best, they say, on furniture with taut seat cushions and pillows. It can easily be cleaned with a damp cloth. New bicast leather furniture can have a slight chemical smell, but this typically dissipates about a week after the piece is exposed to air.[4]

What does this all mean? Well it ends up we are paying Premium Top Dollar for our ipad cases when they are made from laminated leather, considered "worthless" (by wikis definition) with glue into a biproduct that does not improve with age as genuine leather does and that is not even allowed in some countries. The only good news I see in this is that the smell is explained and seems to be a normal thing, it does dissipate after about a week.

What do you you all think?

Sorry if this is not the right section. This is where i thought it belonged most.
 
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jeremy3721

macrumors regular
May 29, 2010
131
24
Yeah, maybe the companies who use real leather should just start calling it 100% dead cow. Put that on a case and I'll buy it today.
 

w4rmk

macrumors 6502
Feb 13, 2006
284
84
I have no doubt that the Yoobao case is using this type of manufactured leather, it doesn't take an expert to tell that the material is not really top grain leather, however for the reasonable price of the case it's still quite acceptable in my opinion. The Apple case isn't leather at all and they are charging for $40 for it.
 

cherrylovesky

macrumors newbie
Sep 26, 2010
1
0
kunshan jiangsu province
reply for PU leather

Hello All,

I've been reading ALOT of reviews and doing extensive product research. Alot of people have been complaining about smells and feel of something we all came to know as the famous PU Leather. I started thinking to myself, what IS PU Leather and after heating people talk about questionable smell and texture I started doing research. Here is what WIKI has to say about this PU Leather stuff



What does this all mean? Well it ends up we are paying Premium Top Dollar for our ipad cases when they are made from laminated leather, considered "worthless" (by wikis definition) with glue into a biproduct that does not improve with age as genuine leather does and that is not even allowed in some countries. The only good news I see in this is that the smell is explained and seems to be a normal thing, it does dissipate after about a week.

What do you you all think?

Sorry if this is not the right section. This is where i thought it belonged most.
:)
you are right , the PU leather will make cost for bag and shoes down.we can supply the solvent ,methyl acetate ,shorten the dry time of the lays.

you know methyl acetate is a solvent .And it can used in PU leather, PU adhesive, thinner, if you like can used in paint. And its boiling point is 57 degrees centigrade, and DMF boiling point is at 150 degrees centigrade, so we can mix them, and they can be azectropic mixture. Its boiling point will drop .at end we can shorten the drying time, promoting production efficiency. The better result is we can cut production line down. Moreover methyl acetate is cheaper than DMF, minimizing the cost.
 

Adam Xuan

macrumors newbie
Dec 1, 2011
1
1
Pu leather is not questionable

When we talking about pu leather ,for my stand of the view(I am the sales manager of a pu leather factory),here is some issues I may want to discuss with you.
1st,Synthetic leather can be non-toxic.Nowadays our products have passed REACH standards,so it will not hurt people's health.
2nd,for enviromental protection.Leather is widely used in people's normal life,we pick leather shoes,leather bags,leather garments,leather sofa.If all the needs depend on the animals,you really think there are enough cows or sheeps for human to murder?
3nd,about the questionable smell,i have to admitted that is a problem.But we can use new solvent to replace the old one.
Anyway,I think your view is being go to extremes.Synthetic leather make a huge improve about our lifes.And if you really can't stand that you are not using a animal skin for bags,it's your choice.
 
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ReallyBigFeet

macrumors 68030
Apr 15, 2010
2,952
129
You get what you pay for. $50 US is not going to buy you a high quality leather cover handcrafted with a precision fit. That's more in the $100-$150 range.
 

fawltybean

macrumors newbie
Jan 24, 2012
2
1
Yoobao Genuine Leather !!!! Funny

When we talking about pu leather ,for my stand of the view(I am the sales manager of a pu leather factory),here is some issues I may want to discuss with you.
1st,Synthetic leather can be non-toxic.Nowadays our products have passed REACH standards,so it will not hurt people's health.
2nd,for enviromental protection.Leather is widely used in people's normal life,we pick leather shoes,leather bags,leather garments,leather sofa.If all the needs depend on the animals,you really think there are enough cows or sheeps for human to murder?
3nd,about the questionable smell,i have to admitted that is a problem.But we can use new solvent to replace the old one.
Anyway,I think your view is being go to extremes.Synthetic leather make a huge improve about our lifes.And if you really can't stand that you are not using a animal skin for bags,it's your choice.

Problem is manufacturers falsely claim these cases as no less GENUINE LEATHER. Yoobao claim "COW HIDE". They even attach a "PU Swatch" as GENUINE LEATHER. All these YouTube people doing videos TO promote them claim them as as GENUINE LEATHER too.

----------

You get what you pay for. $50 US is not going to buy you a high quality leather cover handcrafted with a precision fit. That's more in the $100-$150 range.

True - buy Vaja and Orbino(not Toblino)... for genuine leather handcrafted cases.
 
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operative

macrumors newbie
Dec 22, 2012
1
0
I said hey,[p]u..,get offa my cloud

PU (cannot bring myself to say Leather in same sentence)
Let's get one thing straight, man, best be careful.."peoplekind" have used "Dead Cow" for millenia without the need for anything sin-pathetic (ha, didn't know why I joined but I can see now it's gonna be a cool ride!)
Warmth, clothing,handbags etc. even, yes, condoms. Can you imagine using a piece of Bi(By)cast instead? No flexibility, warmth, comfort et al.
Main point is as I'm coming to try & sell a 100% Genuine Leather jacket on eBay, ought there not be restrictions on how/where PU is listed!! As the myriad (yes, gonna complain to eBay) of PU jackets placed for sale by Copious amounts of Far eastern Factories simply swallow up & around, in this case, my Jacket.
I know people simply drag past All those chepo ads until the Real leather ones come into play & PU thin out. Therefore listing mine at an attractive price so as to sell will almost certainly never be seen/ then at the forced higher price, will be looked at but discounted due to it being 'too high a price.' Matter of taste when all's said n' done, But why don't you get Your Own little compartment clearly stating you're a PU sufferer & stop living off the backs of us in reflected glory.
I guess there is a True comparison to be made, way to tell apart..PU is the equivalent of that bygone (if you remember) "Tracing paper for toilet roll In comparison to what is without doubt, Cotton rich rolls!!"
 

DarkAether

macrumors regular
May 5, 2010
161
15
Uh, no. Leather is a byproduct of raising an animal for food, not a primary product of raising an animal. :rolleyes:

Congratulations. You succeeded in disagreeing with a point that I didn't make.

Whether the animal was raised primarily for food or not (not all leather is from animals raised for food), it still takes longer and costs more to raise an animal and go through all the work of preparing a hide to be used for leather than it does to mix up some chemicals - hence why you can buy pleather goods much cheaper than real leather.
 

kodeman53

macrumors 65816
May 4, 2012
1,091
1
Quote 2...Congratulations. You succeeded in disagreeing with a point that I didn't make.

DarkAether said:
Quote 1...it's cheaper to make vinyl in a vat than raise an animal to adulthood.

Silly me, I don't know how I managed to misconstrue Quote 1 to be equating mixing chemicals with raising an animal strictly as a leather source. :rolleyes:
 

Kouros

macrumors newbie
Mar 22, 2013
1
0
Thank you.

Thank you for your effort and sharing it with others.


Hello All,

I've been reading ALOT of reviews and doing extensive product research. Alot of people have been complaining about smells and feel of something we all came to know as the famous PU Leather. I started thinking to myself, what IS PU Leather and after heating people talk about questionable smell and texture I started doing research. Here is what WIKI has to say about this PU Leather stuff



What does this all mean? Well it ends up we are paying Premium Top Dollar for our ipad cases when they are made from laminated leather, considered "worthless" (by wikis definition) with glue into a biproduct that does not improve with age as genuine leather does and that is not even allowed in some countries. The only good news I see in this is that the smell is explained and seems to be a normal thing, it does dissipate after about a week.

What do you you all think?

Sorry if this is not the right section. This is where i thought it belonged most.
 

Giuly

macrumors 68040
Buy something that is known to be genuine leather then - like a Kavaj or Jisoncase rather than something from an obscure Chinese backyard factory.
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51DLkMYOFgL.jpg
 
Last edited:

unFolded

macrumors newbie
May 20, 2013
1
0
I totally agree, Adam!

When we talking about pu leather ,for my stand of the view(I am the sales manager of a pu leather factory),here is some issues I may want to discuss with you.
1st,Synthetic leather can be non-toxic.Nowadays our products have passed REACH standards,so it will not hurt people's health.
2nd,for enviromental protection.Leather is widely used in people's normal life,we pick leather shoes,leather bags,leather garments,leather sofa.If all the needs depend on the animals,you really think there are enough cows or sheeps for human to murder?
3nd,about the questionable smell,i have to admitted that is a problem.But we can use new solvent to replace the old one.
Anyway,I think your view is being go to extremes.Synthetic leather make a huge improve about our lifes.And if you really can't stand that you are not using a animal skin for bags,it's your choice.


Animal skin reminiscences are poignant, but merely retro cries that will fade and eventually disappear into the soundless past. As a race, humans are moving inexorably into an enlightened world where life is revered -- on all levels.

Now -- as shallow me, I want to take this opportunity to give a shout-out to the awesome designers of handbags (my obsession) who are taking advantage of the explosion of possibilities inspired by PU leather!
 

Rebecca582

macrumors newbie
Jun 12, 2013
1
0
USA
Dear your stuff and research very well know and i much like it PU leather jacket infect i buy this jacket before 3 days this site
 
Last edited:

filmbuff

macrumors 6502a
Jan 5, 2011
967
364
If you think PU "leather" iPad cases are bad, how about all of the car manufacturers selling "genuine leatherette seats" or "leather trimmed seating surfaces"? :rolleyes:

This is why you do some research and get a Sena case.
 

h4lp m3

macrumors 6502a
Jun 29, 2011
500
45
New Orleans
PU leather is vegan

Yeah, maybe the companies who use real leather should just start calling it 100% dead cow. Put that on a case and I'll buy it today.
They should put it on the label so I know what NOT to buy! I like PU leather. It's synthetic and not made from murdered cows. :D
 
Last edited:

meistervu

macrumors 65816
Jul 24, 2008
1,027
27
No, PU leather is NOT vegan

They should put it on the label so I know what NOT to buy! I like PU leather. It's synthetic and not made from murdered cows. :D

It has a thin layer of leather coated with other stuffs.

I love leather. However if I were to choose a substitute I would not consider PU leather. I bought a couple of not so cheap chairs made of PU leather and they shed their skin like a person with a bad sun burn within 4 years.

I never like the feel of PU leather. It should be illegal to associate leather with it since there is so little leather in it.
 

ZipZap

macrumors 603
Dec 14, 2007
6,075
1,445
When we talking about pu leather ,for my stand of the view(I am the sales manager of a pu leather factory),here is some issues I may want to discuss with you.
1st,Synthetic leather can be non-toxic.Nowadays our products have passed REACH standards,so it will not hurt people's health.
2nd,for enviromental protection.Leather is widely used in people's normal life,we pick leather shoes,leather bags,leather garments,leather sofa.If all the needs depend on the animals,you really think there are enough cows or sheeps for human to murder?
3nd,about the questionable smell,i have to admitted that is a problem.But we can use new solvent to replace the old one.
Anyway,I think your view is being go to extremes.Synthetic leather make a huge improve about our lifes.And if you really can't stand that you are not using a animal skin for bags,it's your choice.

So you know the solvent smells and continue to use it?

Is that smell non-toxic?
 

Rocko1

macrumors 68020
Nov 3, 2011
2,070
4
It's like saying hot dogs contain 100% beef. That statement is true-since beef is cow-cow meat, cow intestines, cow tongue, cow parts. PU or bonded leather is junk. Just a way to sell at a premium.
 
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