What Does “real Leather” Really Mean?

When you buy a leather jacket, shoes, purses, or other items, you may come across a label stating that it is “genuine leather”. If you don’t know anything about leather types, you’ll think this is a good sign. If you are a little versed in the types of leather, you will think that this is a bad sign. Today, friends, we’re going to dig a little deeper. Doesn’t necessarily mean either.

“Real” is not a type of leather.

Some misinformation continues to recur that the main grades of leather are high quality, full grain, and “natural”. Leatherworkers will tell you that this is not entirely true. The terms “full grain” and “top grain” are used in the trade, although the exact definition may vary from supplier to supplier. Genuine leather is not a technical term at all.

There are other products sorted by rating systems. Steaks, for example, are rated Prime, Choice, or Select by the USDA . (There are other grades below this, including Standard and Commercial.) There is no comparable grading system for leather.

Leather comes in a dizzying array of types, splits and finishes. Top quality leather or full grain leather includes a smooth leather surface. To make it thinner, it can be layered . This bottom layer of leather, fluffy on both sides, can be sold as suede, but it can also be dyed or coated with something like polyurethane to give it a smooth finish that makes it look like top-grain or full-grain leather.

There’s a technical term for this – it’s “ready split” and that’s the low-quality leather that people try to warn you against when you look at the “genuine leather” label. Finished splits may crack when bent, or the coating may chip off over time. (Here are some photos showing what it might look like.)

“Real leather” just means it’s… leather

It is true that many low-quality split leather products will be labeled “genuine leather”. But this label doesn’t mean it’s low quality. This North Star Leather blog explains why. Saying a product is made from genuine leather is like saying a burger is made from real beef, they write. With that in mind, “Which place/product gets the label ‘real beef’? You tend to see fast food outlets feel the need to brag about being “real beef” but you don’t see trendy steakhouses bothering to point that out.”

In other words, “genuine leather” is a term you often see on products that have nothing good to say about other than that it’s actually leather. In this sense, it may be a sign of poor quality leather. If the seller can tell you more about where the leather comes from or how it was processed, it usually won’t have a “genuine leather” label.

But the same blog indicates that this is a modern convention. Vintage leather goods were often described as real leather, just to distinguish them from other leather goods. And sellers in non-English-speaking countries sometimes offer translated advertising text that uses the term “genuine leather.” In this case, it’s just a language issue; the seller may not be aware that the term is associated with lower quality leather.

The North Star tanner notes that the real problem here is expecting one term to tell you if a piece is worth your money. “Don’t buy because you are looking for or avoiding a specific keyword,” they write. Find out more about the leather item you are considering and pay attention to information such as its price and the reputation of the company or craftsman who made it.