Leather

Leather is a durable and flexible material created by tanning animal rawhide and skins. The most common raw material is cattle hide. It can be produced at manufacturing scales ranging from artisan to modern industrial scale.

Types of Leather

Leather is used to make a variety of articles, including footwear, automobile seats, clothing, bags, book bindings, fashion accessories, and furniture. It is produced in a wide variety of types and styles and decorated by a wide range of techniques.

Vegetable-tanned Leather

Vegetable-tanned leather is tanned using tannins extracted from vegetable matter, such as tree bark prepared in bark mills. It is supple and brown in color, with the exact shade depending on the mix of materials and the color of the skin.

Chrome-tanned Leather

Chrome-tanned leather, invented in 1858, is tanned using chromium sulfate and other chromium salts. It is more supple and pliable than vegetable-tanned leather and does not discolor or lose shape as drastically in water as vegetable-tanned.

Aldehyde-tanned Leather

Aldehyde-tanned leather is tanned using glutaraldehyde or oxazolidine compounds. It is referred to as "wet white" due to its pale cream color. It is the main type of leather used in chrome-free leather often seen in cars and baby shoes.

Leather Production Processes

Leather production processes include: preparatory stages, tanning, and crusting. All true leathers undergo these processes. A further subprocess, finishing, can be added into the leather process sequence, but not all leathers receive finishing.

Environmental Impact

The natural fibers of leather break down with the passage of time. Acidic leathers are particularly vulnerable to red rot, which causes powdering of the surface and a change in consistency. Damage from red rot is aggravated by high temperatures and relative humidities.

See Also

• Artificial leather
• Bicast leather
• Bonded leather
• Vegan leather

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