Imitation leather
Description
A flexible fabric or paper imprinted or embossed to simulate the appearance and feel of leather. For inexpensive imitation leathers, a base cloth of a heavy fabric, such as cotton duck or rayon, is coated with a plastic, such as vinyl, Cellulose acetate, Cellulose nitrate, Polyethylene, or chloroprene rubber. Some imitation leathers are made without a fabric lining. One method uses thick, embossed sheets of slightly elastomeric plastic (Rubber or Polyurethane) while a second method uses compressed, pulped leather scraps and a third method uses textile fibers mixed with a polymeric binder. Imitation leathers are used for upholstery, luggage, bookbinding, and automobile seat covers. It is unlawful to use terms that imply a material is leather when it is an imitation. See also Fabrikoid and Naugahyde.
Synonyms and Related Terms
artificial leather; faux leather; cuir artificiel (Fr.); imitación de cuero (Esp.); imitación de piel (Esp.); namaak leer (Ned); leerdoek (Ned.); pegamoide (It.); synthetic leather; fake leather; Leatherette; leather cloth; Fabrikoid; Naugahyde; Corfam; Keratol; Marokene; Texaderm; Ultrasuede; pleather
Resources and Citations
- Robert Kanigel, FauxReal: Genuine Leather and 200 years of Inspired Fakes', University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2007.
- G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 203
- Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982
- Polymer Handbook, Sealants and Adhesives
- Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000
- American Leather Chemists Association Glossary at www.leatherchemists.org