Microfiber Leather: A Comprehensive Guide

1. What is microfiber synthetic leather?

Microfiber synthetic leather is considered the highest quality material with a high performance of synthetic leather. Microfiber is animal-friendly leather, artificial, and considered vegan.

With improvements in synthetic fabrics and growing support for treating animals humanely, it might come as little surprise that the quality and quantity of leather alternatives are increasing. You might need a program to keep up with the different players.

One recent innovation is microfiber leather. It has a reputation for durability and a realistic feel. The question is whether that reputation is warranted; also, just where does microfiber fit alongside real leather and traditional alternatives.

We put together this guide to help answer those questions. We took a look at microfiber leather and what it’s made out of and compared it against the rest of the field.

2. What is microfiber leather made of?

Microfiber leather is a microfiber non-woven fabric coated with a layer of high-performance PU (polyurethane) resins combined.
For years, synthetic leathers have been something of a joke. You could tell they were fakes by just looking at them. They didn’t look, smell, or even feel like animal skin.

As demand for better synthetics grew, manufacturers figured out ways to improve those synthetics. Today, they have created microfiber leather, the best synthetic yet.

Other synthetics start by laying down strips of fabric and coating those with polyurethane resin. Microfiber leather starts with what is more accurately called a mat of synthetic fibers woven together and bound together with polyurethane.

That closely mimics the construction of real leather, which substitutes skin fibers for microfiber.

As good as it is, overall, be aware that some microfibers are better than others. Take a close look at both sides of the fabric if possible. The harder it is to distinguish it from leather, the higher quality it is.

3. Is microfiber leather eco-friendly?

The full name of microfiber leather is microfiber reinforced leather. It has the environmental protection effect now advocated, as well as excellent wear resistance, excellent breathability, aging resistance, softness, comfort, and strong flexibility. Microfiber leather is an environmentally friendly product now advocated. It is the best recycled leather. It feels softer than real leather. Microfiber leather belongs to a newly developed high-end leather in synthetic leather and belongs to a new type of leather.

Microfiber leather is environmentally friendly. There will be no pollution from production to use, and the environmental performance is superior. The microfiber leather does not contain aldehyde, benzene, non-toxic, zero pollution, low carbon and environmental protection, good water resistance and strong adhesion. Because of its abrasion resistance, cold resistance, breathability, aging resistance, soft texture, environmental protection and beautiful appearance, it has become the most ideal choice to replace natural leather.

As we all know, dermis is animal skin, which is not environmentally friendly and is prone to pollution in post-processing. Microfiber leather is the artificial leather with the highest technological content at present. The microfiber leather is environmentally friendly. The main raw materials are nylon and polyurethane. The polyurethane is added with microfiber to further enhance the toughness, breathability and abrasion resistance. High-quality microfiber leather is even stronger and more durable than real leather, and has a high utilization rate.

Practice has proved that the excellent properties of microfiber leather cannot be replaced by natural leather. According to market analysis, microfiber leather has also largely replaced natural leather with insufficient resources. The use of microfiber leather for the decoration of bags, clothing, shoes, vehicles and furniture has been increasingly affirmed by the market. Its wide range of applications, large quantities, and many varieties cannot be satisfied by traditional natural leather.

4. Which is better leather or microfiber?

Shopping for and ultimately buying a sofa is a big deal and a large investment. There are many things to take into consideration as you prepare to purchase a couch such as quality, comfort, and style. Because a couch is such an investment, you’ll want to make sure you choose one that will last a long time.

The couch that is considered the better option will fully depend on your needs and wants, so the better option might vary from person to person. As you prepare to buy a couch consider the following:

Will the couch be in direct sunlight? If your couch will be in a sunny area receiving a lot of direct sunlight, then a microfiber or faux leather couch will be the better option for you as microfiber isn’t as affected by UV rays as leather is. A microfiber or faux leather couch will continue to hold it’s color regardless of sunlight, while a leather couch will fade over time.

The best way to protect a leather couch from the sun is to simply keep it out of the sun; however if you are unable to keep your couch out of the sun, do your best to keep the blinds or curtain closed and consider covering your couch with a blanket during the hottest part of the day.

What look are you going for? If you want a more traditional or sleek look, a leather or faux leather couch will probably be the better option for you, whereas if you prefer a couch that has the potential to be a bit more eccentric either by its color or pattern, then microfiber will be the better option, as it is available in many colors and/or patterns.

However, it is possible to find faux leather in a variety of colors.

Who will be using the couch? If you’re buying a couch that will be used by a larger family and maybe some pets, leather or faux leather will be the easiest to clean, while leather or microfiber will be the most durable.

What is your budget? A couch can be a big investment, and how much you want to spend will help you better determine which couch will be best for you. Leather, especially full-grain, will be the priciest option and require the largest budget; a microfiber couch will be the “middle” option price-wise and still guarantee durability; a faux leather couch will be the most affordable option, but the least durable of the three.

It’s important also to take quality into consideration. If you’re wanting to purchase a couch that will last you several years, it will probably cost more. Where if you’re looking for a couch that you may want to replace within the next few years because you’re family has grown or you’ve moved into a bigger house, you can opt for a lower price point.

How much care do you want to put into your couch? A leather or faux leather couch is pretty simple to keep clean as they can be wiped down with a damp cloth and need to be conditioned about once a year. However, a microfiber couch tends to attract dust, dirt, and pet hair, so the cleaning process requires both a dry clean, damp clean, and time to dry.

If you opt for a microfiber couch and are concerned about the cleaning process, consider slipcovers to add an extra layer of protection.
Answering these questions prior to shopping will help you best determine which couch will be better for you and your home. Just like you would test drive a car before you buy it, you should test drive a couch as well. Go to a furniture store and take your time looking around and testing a variety of couches and how they feel to the touch and to sit and lounge on. And most importantly, don’t be afraid to ask any questions you may have regarding durability, care, and quality.

Because a couch can be such a big investment, you absolutely want to make sure you’re investing in a piece of furniture that is going to last you a while.

A quality leather couch should last 25+ years, a microfiber couch typically lasts 7 – 10 years and a faux leather couch will last roughly 3 – 5 years.

It’s important to keep in mind that the longevity of a couch will depend on how well it’s taken care of. A high-quality leather couch that sits in direct sunlight and is never conditioned may not last as long as a microfiber couch that is cleaned as directed routinely.

5. Microfiber Leather VS Real Leather

Leather and microfibers are two completely different things, although the support fabric for false leather is sometime made of microfibers.
A microfiber is simply a fiber which weight less than 1 denier, i.e. 1 gram per 9000m. Originally, the textile industry was only capable of producing fibers above 1 denier. At one point, very thin fibers, i.e. microfibers, were developed as a cheaper alternative to silk. They are now used in many more applications than silk imitation.

Microfiber is also used as a generic term to describe:

Polyester microfibers, the most common microfibers (but there are other microfibers, such as polyolefin microfibers, and silk is also a microfiber);

A fabric made of microfibers, once again usually polyester microfibers .

A woven fabric made microfibers, although microfibers are also commonly used in knitted fabrics.

If we were to compare leather to “microfiber”, we should consider microfiber means in this context a woven fabric made of polyester microfibers. In that case:

Leather is more or less waterproof, depending how it is treated. On the opposite, a microfiber fabric usually has a high capillarity, except of course if it has been treated or coated specifically to stop the capillarity.

Microfiber fabrics are usually much more flexible than even the thinnest leather.

Thin leather is somewhat elastic, usually the same in all directions. Microfiber woven fabrics, as any woven fabrics, have almost no elasticity in the width and length, but are much more stretchable than leather in the diagonal direction. Knitted microfibers fabrics, on the other hand, are usually much more stretchable than leather.

Microfiber woven fabric are more durable than leather of the same weight range, except for some forms of abrasion.

1. Microfibrer leather is high-class synthetic leather which perfectly replicates features of real leather such as the handfeeling, breathability and moisture absorption etc.

2. The performance of microfiber including chemical and abrasion resistance, anti-crease, aging resistance etc are better than genuine leather.

3. Because the real leather is animal skin, so it has a strange smell. If the formaldehyde and heavy metals exceed the standards in the production process, usually the real leather would has a pungent odour. However, the microfiber is anti-odour.

4. Based on the quality distribution on natural hide, the amount of usable leather is about 60 to 80% only. However, the microfiber is not limited by this, it is produced in roll form, also the quality of microfiber is very stable.

● Texture: Faux leather is a superior quality artificial leather that nearly replicates all the features of real leather, such as the texture, durability, ability to absorb moisture, and breathability.

● Performance: However, if we talk about the features of faux leather, like its chemical, abrasion, and aging resistance, then microfiber is better than real leather.

● Odor: Real leather is created using the animal skin; therefore, it has a peculiar smell that can only be removed if it undergoes an appropriate process; however, minor negligence can result in the real leather having a pungent smell. In contrast, artificial leather is odorless as it is made up of premium quality polyurethane resins and fine fiber base cloth.

● Price: Lastly, if we compare the price and quantity of microfiber leather vs real leather, then the price of real leather is relatively higher than microfiber leather as it is made out of genuine animal skin; however, it is not produced in bulk like microfiber leather.

6. Microfiber Leather VS PU Leather

Microfiber leather itself is made using polyurethane (PU), so aren't they the same things? No, they are entirely different kinds of leather with different prices, structure, and performance.

● Structure: The base fabric of Ordinary Polyurethane (PU) is made up using knitted, woven, or non-woven fabric. Then the base is coated with polyurethane resins. In contrast, faux leather has a three-dimensional structure. The base fabric of artificial leather is made of non-woven fabric, which is then coated with top-notch quality polyurethane resins.

● Performance: Despite having the surface of polyurethane resins, both the microfiber and PU leather have distinct performance. Microfiber leather has better color fastness, texture, hydrolysis, abrasion, acid, and alkali resistance than ordinary PU.

● Market prospects: PU has been in the market for a while; hence it is popular and has more color options than artificial leather. But recently, the recognition of microfiber leather has increased, causing it to take over the leather industry.

● Price: The price of Ordinary PU is lower than microfiber leather.

If you want to learn more about microfiber information, please contact us.