What is the difference between PU [faux-leather] and pure leather?

What is the difference between PU [faux-leather] and pure leather?

Leather is a natural product and for all practical purpose a byproduct of meat industry. There are various kind of leathers depending on the source and the way it is processed. Leather is used in footwear primarily because of two reasons:

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01

Leather Breathes

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that is it has the ability to get wet. This means that it can absorb the sweat from the inside and move the moisture to the surface from where it can dry up. This is great quality of leather which helps in keeping the feet cool. Though breathability will also depend on how the shoe is made but this natural ability of leather is one of the big positive of leather as a shoe ingredient.

02

Leather has an incredible life

it can handle million flexing action – movement of toe which causes wrinkles in leather. This quality of leather makes it an amazing ingredient for shoes.

03

About PU (Polyurethane)

Polyurethane is an artificial material where certain grade of plastic is deposited on micro-fiber sheet [which is a kind of fabric]. In short, its layers of plastic on each side of the fabric. This means that PU as a material can’t breathe. Anyways plastic can’t get wet – so breathability is out of question. One can use PU for sports shoes – as sports shoes have mesh portions in the shoes which is where they breathe from.

So, PU as a material is not suitable for formal shoes. These shoes will stink and you will find your feet hot & stuffy inside these shoes.

It is possible to make PU strong but is no match for a good leather. There is no way that PU can be stronger than leather.

04

Life of PU over The Years

PU also suffers from another critical problem – if not used regularly then the compound becomes unstable and can generally crumble on its own. In other words, a PU shoe can collapse if you have not used it for a while, which is not a possibility with leather.

 
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