I recall the term being pleather. Plastic leather.
Comment on Most of plant based leather uses a lot of polyurethane
SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Vegan leather is what they call plastic imitation leather nowadays
RedRibbonArmy@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
OrteilGenou@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Technically if they are organic matter compressed over eons into polycarbons, they’re still dinosaurs, so not vegan
Zirconium@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Well a lot of it turns out to be dead trees not dinosaurs, but I’m sure I’ll get “um actually” but someone who is a bigger expert
Witchfire@lemmy.world 2 months ago
And it’s fucking terrible compared to real leather. It’ll start flaking or cracking after a year, it’s fucking dangerous around fire, it offers no fucking insulation or protection, it’s shit.
MirrorGiraffe@piefed.social 2 months ago
I had a pair of boots that I used 9 months a year in Swedish climate for roughly 10 years without a hitch. They also went for hikes in Costa Rica and across India and Nepal. At the end they looked worn but were still functional as I swapped them out for another pair of vegan leather boots.
I’ve had other vegan shoes that lasted a lot shorter but that can be said about my animal skin shoes as well.
Modern bio-leather causes about 10% off the emissions leather does and doesn’t have the same tanning process which is extremely toxic.
Not saying that vegan is strictly better, but rumours of it’s crappiness are severely out of date.
Witchfire@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I definitely haven’t had the same experience. Anything I get that is pleather ends up breaking down sooner rather than later (especially thrifted pleather). Hell, my favorite pair of pleather pants recently lost a dish sized area by the crotch, and those were bought new from a brand I trust. I had to fix a huge patch in my partner’s bag recently, and virtually every pair of pleather boots has ended up in the trash. I have a long pleather skirt that basically ripped from floor to waist that I’m still deciding whether to fix or not.
I will add the disclaimer that I’m an experienced leatherworker which affects my bias
I rarely get real leather new, and when it fails it’s rarely the actual leather. I have a jacket I thrifted about a decade ago that is still going strong, though I’ve had to replace the buttons a few times. My most recent leather boots survived multiple camping trips and heavy use, until the plastic zipper broke. Even my leatherwork mainly uses repurposed scraps. At this point my partner and I refuse to buy/use a daily purse that is anything but leather because of how long it lasts. It’s worth repairing leather, it’s not worth repairing pleather.
isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
Plastic zipper on leather boots is quite the engineering choice…
NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Ive had it in my car for 7 years and zero flaking and feels great. Thats definitely specific to the quality you have.