Bonded leather

Leather fiber, also abbreviated called lefa, is a material of the crushed from chromium shavings and vegetable tanned leather scraps of leather-processing industry ( sole production, Equestrian and orthopedic leather production ), natural rubber latex ( binder), natural fats and tannins is made.

Lefa is used in shoe manufacturing mainly for rear caps, heels, running and insoles, as well as for so-called frame material, but also in the leather goods and furniture industries and in bookbinding. There it is used as a book cover, which has almost all the features of leather: look, smell and feel to the touch, but is much cheaper than genuine leather. In the description of goods bonded leather is often called Recycled Bonded Leather or Leather designated. The use of the term bonded leather or bonded leather is determined by the standard EN 15987 " leather - Key definitions for the leather trade - Terminology " regulated. Products with less than 50 % cut leather may not be designated as bonded leather.

World leader in the manufacture of leather fibers is the company Salamander Industrie-Produkte in Untertürkheim. For their product names for book cover material is one of Cabra. Another resident in Germany is the manufacturer LEDERETT leather fiber material in Siebenlehn.

In the furniture products also often finds the recast ® brand from the United States - often as recast Leather, Bicast or Bycast leather or faux leather called. However, some of these products contain less than 50% cut leather.