this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2023
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You Should Know

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Why YSK: The term "Genuine Leather" is a marketing term to sell the lowest quality leather possible.

When purchasing a leather product, look for full grain leather or top grain leather instead. These will provide a much higher quality cut of leather that will look and feel much better and last for much longer.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (5 children)

You should also know that technically only the piece marked as genuine leather needs to actually be genuine leather. If you buy something made with multiple pieces, the rest could be made from any material so long as that one piece is genuine.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (13 children)

Can somebody explain why leather is better? It's it the smell? The feel? Tradition? I see it in car reviews where they complain about cloth.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's breathable but works in both warm and cold weather. This makes it ideal for spring and autumn. It's easy to clean although it's also hard to maintain (you have to oil it and protect it against rain). It lasts for very long if you care for it unlike fabric or fake leather, so a leather jacket can be worn for decades and still look and feel great.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My best guess (not in the community or anything) is that leather does better at being durable—especially if you treat it well and condition it regularly?—than cloth and plastic-leather alternatives, which break down. I know leather is meant to be very durable and have good “properties,” but I can’t be specific.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I’ve had a leather belt for about 25 years now that I bought for like $10, wear it multiple times a week. In all those years I’ve gone through multiple other belts that haven’t lasted.

Far as I see it, leather belts are the most economical and better for the environment than constantly manufacturing lesser lasting belts.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

It's been designed by time. Why manufacture something that has been provided? Seems like an unnecessary step, and a large reason for much of our problems. My s.o. works leather as a hobby, and it's really cool. All the stuff she's made me is better than anything I've had before.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I bought a leather belt in Prague as a nice souvenir. Stil wearing it almost daily over 20 years later. I replaced the stitching but the leather is still rock solid.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It is something people think they want because it is more expensive and in higher trim levels in cars. But when your car is parked in the hot sun the leather feels like it burns and in the winter is freezing to the touch. Leather also doesn't breath so you end up sweating more and if your are not wearing long pants your leg will stick to the seat. Cloth is so much better functionally. Cloth also lasts longer than the fake leather they put in cars. Cloth won't peel like the fake leather.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Any cloth i have seen in cars absorbs my swet, and is hard to clean up afterwards, unlike leather.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I like how leather feels like and the unique look when it's aged or beaten up. Works great with wallets, belts, shoes... but not so much your couch, especially when it's hot and humid.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Not quite. The truth is, there is no universally recognized grades of leather. But when bragging about quality, genuine leather is the lowest bar they can go (other than bonded leather, which isn’t fully leather but just a veneer over fabric.

Full grain or top grain is generally what you want.

https://lifehacker.com/what-genuine-leather-really-means-1850309049

Also, some are concerned about the use of an animal product. The vast majority of leather is a byproduct of the beef industry. It is skin that would otherwise go to waste. And it is also far more environmentally friendly a material than many alternatives, which are often made of plastics.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Yeah, honestly you should buy leather products based on brands than on description of "genuine" leather.

And agree, real leather is a much better alternative to the ridiculous amount of micro-plastic synthetic leather generates, especially since it'll last you decades if you maintain it well.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If you think about it, it makes sense. All they are saying it's that is actually real leather which is the least you could say about leather.

To add to the naming fun: Corinthian Leather.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's like leather veneer, in most cases.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I thought "genuine" was the middle grade, with "bonded" being the lowest. Bob's Furniture used to market "genuine bonded leather" sofas which I found both clever and infuriating.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

Bonded leather is less than 20% real leather and made from scraps and fibers of genuine leather combined with binders. It’s generally not as durable as genuine leather.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (5 children)
[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

It has its place.

For example, leather in second hand products it's great because it's durable and often high quality. And, whatever you do, the animal has already been killed and paid for.

I would also buy leather products if it's for something that I intend to use for many years. It sort of offsets the environmental damage from buying multiple synthetic products.

Then again, I'm not vegan.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In the right context, leather goods are much more durable and sustainable than synthetic alternatives. That said, leather is a co-product of the meat and dairy industry which is currently ridiculously unsustainable. Leather for leathers sake in designer goods and such is ridiculous.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Agreed. I don't purchase leather anymore but when I did I still knew genuine leather is pretty much junk.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Murder is killing a human.

Killing a cow is just part of eating.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Wonder what the people who are downvoting this are thinking. Is it not murder, or is it only a restproduct of murder?

[–] [email protected] 63 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think it's because it's irrelevant for someone who would be interested in leather (and this YSK). I'm sure they're well aware of where leather comes from. I will say, though, that if cows are getting murdered for food, then they might as well use the whole animal instead of letting it go to waste.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I wonder what people who upvote this are thinking, obviously the point is moot unless you are also vegan. And who upvotes someone going “meat is murder” in the comment section.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

I'm not vegan, but I do personally agree that it's selfish and inhumane to eat meat and use leather - especially on an industrial scale. I eat meat, but I don't have any delusions about where it comes from.

Not meaning to argue, but just to say it's not only vegans that think about this stuff. Also, even if it was, that doesn't mean they're wrong or moot.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Not murder, per definition.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In one of those 70s Fat Albert episodes, I think it was Rudy who one day showed up wearing a jacket of "genuine imitation leather". That term has stuck with me for decades.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

All I can say is that it's still at least leather. Most things (e.x., belts) will say "manmade leather" or "manmade materials" and they are fake and break. The genuine leather belt I have has been working for 4 years without snapping.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

Also I highly recommend avoiding man leather.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Still better to get full grain leather. Guinie leather is to full grain leather as particle board is to solid wood.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Well yes but my wallet is cool and on a chain

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (3 children)

This really is a perfect replacement for reddit, we even have the same reposted fun facts

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You can leave reddit, but you can't leave the redditor on the inside.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Leather's gross anyway. Who wants to be like buffalo Bill? Haha

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

Me! I'd fuck me!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Could you please add a "Why YSK:"? It's rule #2. Thank you. :)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Sorry, fixed!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Also known as "It's really leather, I promise."

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Anyone that watched TV in the 1970s knows that Corinthian leather is the best grade of leather you can get anyway.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

plant based leather exists

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Is it really leather, though?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

One for the philosophers.

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