Synthetic Leather Market: Popular Applications Leather-making is an art practiced for over 7,000 years. During ancient times, fresh skins were dried in the sun, softened by pounding in animal brains and fats, and preserved by smoking and salting. However, with the changing times, easy to manufacture, maintain, cost-effective, and the vegan option of animal-based leather has increased in demand globally. As a result, synthetic leather has gained traction in industries, including footwear, clothing, furniture, and automotive. There is increasing use of synthetic leather in jackets, coats, handbags, purses, belts, etc. Moreover, there is also a high demand for synthetic leather in the footwear industry. According to Inkwood Research, the global synthetic leather market is anticipated to propel with a 7.11% CAGR in terms of revenue and 6.89% CAGR in terms of volume during the assessment years 2023-2032.
Genuine/Real Leather vs. Synthetic Leather Synthetic leather resembles real leather, whereas genuine leather is a strong and durable material obtained from tanning or chemical treatment of animal skins and hide. Manufacturers obtain real leather from the skins of animals like buffaloes, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, seals, and alligators. Leather is useful in producing clothing, handbags, footwear, sports equipment, and furniture. On the other hand, synthetic leather is not as strong, durable, or flexible as real leather. However, the manufacturing process of synthetic leather is much simpler and tends to be less expensive than leather. Also, products made with synthetic leather are usually much easier to care for as they are usually made from plastics, especially polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and epoxy resins.