Issues with so called Genuine Leather

[Davy]

I had a bloke come to me a while ago with a couple of studded belts he wanted joined together to make a guitar strap . He got them that cheap , I couldnt make them for material cost alone at that price . When I checked out the leather I noticed that it didnt look right so I peeled back the liner saw what I'd seen only once before . It was reconstituted leather with a label on it saying genuine leather . Now , I guess technically they're right but in reality when someone buys a leather belt they assume that its made from a strip cut off a hide not offcuts of all sorts of different bits turned to pulp and processed like paper . The stuff delaminates and cracks real easily . Do they let this crap into the American and European markets as genuine leather or do they have better controls over imports than we have here in Australia . It was made from chrome tanned offcuts as well , probably from old worn out shoes . Give ya one guess where they were made . Hint - starts with Ch ends with na .

[esantoro]

"Genuine" leather is the term used for the hot dog of leather: leather shavings and dust glued and compressed. This stuff is all over the U.S..

A belt made of genuine leather can go for $40.

[tonyc1]

25 years ago I saw a belt stamped on the inside saying "Genuine Imitation Leather" at least they were honest!!!

Tony.

[Davy]

The hot dog of leather . what a gem of a saying esantoro . pretty well sums it up though eh .

[Ian]

Those belts have been an issue with me for a long time. Surely there must be some kind of regulation about false advertising. Some years ago I was selling at a flea market. The guy 3 booths down was selling them for 3 for 10 bucks while I was getting 30 for mine. It was a full time job explaining the difference. I bought a few of his, tore them open and made an information board. Still, the whole thing p's me off.

There's a regular seller at the big state fair here that has 1000's of 'genuine Leather' belts, and his booth is jam packed with peoiple snapping them up.

I will say this, some of those belts have half way decent buckles on them. I've thought about buying them for the buckles.

I have gotten jackets and vests in the shop for repair that were labeled 'Genuine Leather' that were vinyl , made, you-know-where.

I'll found the general public thinks anything labeled 'leather' is about the same, whether it's bonded, split or the real thing. How does one educate the public on a larger scale than one at a time?

[Drac]

I could've sworn that there was something on the books saying that "particleboard leather" couldn't be labeled as "genuine leather" anymore. maybe that's only on stuff produced in the states and not imported?

[Knife Knut]

I bought a "leather" dress belt once. The :censored2:thing delaminated!

[Kevin]

I think what we want to call "Genuine Leather" is now designated Top Grain Leather, and no consumer has the slightest idea what that means. I don't know how our tanneries get to call leather English Bridle Leather, when it is nothing like English Bridle Leather. In the latest issue of Shop Talk, there is an article about making a rolled throat strap, which he says is English Bridle Leather, if it is, it's the sorriest looking piece I've ever seen and I've never seen a halter made from English Bridle Leather in 30 years and in the last 16 years I've had at least 250 go through my hands per year conservatively.

Sorry, some things catch in my craw.

When did a half gallon of ice cream become 3 pints? A quart of mayo is only 30 ozs. and the last time I bought a pint of milk at a convenience store it was only 12 ozs.

What were we talking about? Oh yeah, and soft serve is not ice cream or frozen custard, it's just ice milk.

Kevin

[Suze]

Even worse Kevin that Half Gallon (three pints) of ice cream is most likely half air.

so if you made it "right" about a pint and a half of ice cream.

and I have seen a lot of bonded leather stuff around. Looks good for about a week.

I have a whole slew of belts around here that came with skirts that I bought. they are braided belts and have a really nice cord running through them (only reason I kept them)