Is man-made leather generally safe or dangerous?

[kenny1999]

Hello all. I'm asking these questions out of worries, they are not homework,
I have already left school for decades. Because I have so many concerns about this topic so I am trying to break it down into questions without boring you with a long story.

1. How many types of man-made leather (for clothing) ?

2. Do they often have fairly the same composition but only a slight variation? Or
could they vary a lot?

3. I have been hearing that man-made or faux leather could be hazardous to health.

4. Are the risks due to the chemical itself or other chemicals / addictives used
in the manufacturing process?

5. Do the risks naturally exist because of the nature of the chemicals itself or do they only exist if it's manufactured by inappropriate or illegal process?

6. Is there any sign that we can determine if it's a "risky" leather? Many people said that to check if it has strong and unpleasant smell. Is it true?
Does the extent of the smell reflect the risk of the leather?

7. Is there anything we can do to eliminate or reduce the possible risks that
come from the man-made / faux leather products?

Thanks

 

[berkeman]

3. I have been hearing that man-made or faux leather could be hazardous to health.

You have been at the PF long enough to know that "I have heard" is not considered a valid reference in the technical forums. Please provide some links to what you have been reading. Thank you.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Is man-made leather generally safe or dangerous?

It's much safer for the cow, that's for sure.

 

[kenny1999]

It's much safer for the cow, that's for sure.

How about man-made leather

 

[berkeman]

How about man-made leather

You didn't answer my question:

You have been at the PF long enough to know that "I have heard" is not considered a valid reference in the technical forums. Please provide some links to what you have been reading. Thank you.

 

[jim mcnamara]

First off, man-made leather can be:
From wikpedia, not the perfect source

Also commonly known as faux leather, pleather or synthetic leather, man-made leather is commonly made from polyvinyl chloride, called PVC, and polyurethane, called PU leather. Sheets of these polymers are heat-stamped with an artificial leather grain to make them look like leather.

So.
Your living space has furniture and kitchen finishes with made Polyurethane. PVC and other polymers are in household products, cell phones, earbuds, and so on. No plastic == no modern technology, pretty much.

So, if man-made leather is bad for you, then you are already doomed by previous exposure to those same plastic polymers. Your house and furniture plus finishes and paints, and lots of the toys you played with, not to mention cell phone cases, should have killed you and me off long ago. And I'm limping up on towards 80.

Please tell us where you got this from. Sounds like a conspiracy theory to me, which PF does not support.

 

[kenny1999]

First off, man-made leather can be:
From wikpedia, not the perfect source

So.
Your living space has furniture and kitchen finishes with made Polyurethane. PVC and other polymers are in household products, cell phones, earbuds, and so on. No plastic == no modern technology, pretty much.

So, if man-made leather is bad for you, then you are already doomed by previous exposure to those same plastic polymers. Your house and furniture plus finishes and paints, and lots of the toys you played with, not to mention cell phone cases, should have killed you and me off long ago. And I'm limping up on towards 80.

Please tell us where you got this from. Sounds like a conspiracy theory to me, which PF does not support.

The fact is the plastic you mentioned used in toys or cellphones don't have
any unpleasant smell (most of the time), I never had a cellphone or toy in
my life that were smelly. However, it's very common and easy that you can
find unpleasant odor coming from synthetic / faux leather, some very strong,
some not very strong but still easily detected

 

[jim mcnamara]

Okay since you do not seem to cite your source we cannot help you. Thread closed.