Read carefully the labels and, should you have any doubts, do not be shy with retailers: take your time and question them closely. Such are the main guidelines handed out by Associated Press to their readers while warning them about upholstery purchase. In fact, both in the North American market and in the English one, manufacturers label non-leather materials by using letterings that lead customers to misunderstandings and, therefore, to disappointment. That is the reason why the Washington Post considers bonded leather to be “a real pain”. Press agency Associated Press has recently issued a handbook, as reported by various Canadian and US newspapers, to provide their readers with the bearings to look around and find their way. First rule: be careful about “bonded leather”, that is leather fibre board, since it is made through an additional processing of leather scraps; furthermore, it is “typically less resilient” and it usually “cracks and peels”. Just to make it clear again. Yet AP also warns consumers about “genuine leather”, which is often a generic label, at times used by manufacturers to label bonded leather itself. If consumers are really looking for leather, they had better go for “top-grain leather” or “full leather”, the full grain one: at that point, they will have bought genuine leather indeed.
“If you look for leather, take the full grain one”: flip through Associated Press handbook and skip upholstery rip-off
