Genuine Leather Buttons VS Imitation Leather Buttons: What is the Difference

Leather is a massively important material in the fashion industry, but distinguishing it from cheap copies such as Faux Leather is becoming increasingly difficult. Being able to spot these differences improves the buying experience as nobody wants to waste money on authentic copies. This article mainly introduces difference between genuine leather buttons and imitation leather buttons.

Genuine leather buttons are made of natural cowhide, pigskin, sheepskin and other raw materials, and the surface has the texture of natural leather. Due to their rich colors and sense of luxury, they are suitable for high-end leather clothing, suits and casual wear.

However, there are many buttons of different quality in the market, which can be confusing when choosing suitable leather buttons for clothing. Therefore, improving our understanding of the characteristics of leather buttons can help select satisfactory leather buttons, or quickly distinguish them from artificial leather buttons.

Genuine Leather Buttons

The size of genuine leather buttons is the same as that of resin buttons. The main types of leather buttons are visible hole buttons, hidden hole buttons, leather double buckles and belt buttons.

The price of leather buttons is higher due to their natural leather materials. In addition, some leather buttons are hand-woven, resulting in low production efficiency and high costs.

Since the raw material of genuine leather buttons is natural leather, the buttons of the same batch will be slightly different in color, thickness, hardness and luminosity.

During the washing process, the surface coating of woven leather buttons is easy to fall off, because the leather will absorb moisture and expand. Therefore, clothes with leather buttons should be dry cleaned.

Compared with ordinary buttons, leather buttons have stronger acidity, and the metal fittings on the clothes must be protected by an acid-proof coating, otherwise the surface of the metal fittings will be easily oxidized during storage.

Imitation Leather Buttons

The production cycle of artificial leather buttons is longer because they have an extra layer on the surface.

Since the main material of artificial leather buttons is synthetic resin, its heat resistance, abrasion resistance and organic solvent resistance are not as good as genuine leather buttons. Artificial leather buttons cannot be ironed, immersed in organic solvents or left in the washing machine for a long time.

The imitation leather buttons are colorful. In addition, the surface smoothness of the button can be made into bright, semi-matte, matte and other effects according to customer requirements.

Spotting the difference between the two can be difficult, however, the biggest difference between the two materials is the durability and quality, real leather is much more durable and has much higher quality. Here are a few tips to identify faux leather.

-Look at the product label or source you are purchasing from- If you’re in doubt with the material, make sure to contact the source you are buying it from to establish the material used in the construction of the product.

-Look at the edges of the product- Faux leather products have pristine looking edges which can feel spongy or like plastic, whereas a genuine leather product will have rough looking edges.

-Smell the leather- Leather has a distinctive musky smell which is a lot stronger than the smell Faux Leather.