Thanks for the information !
I almost pull the trigger but I'll wait to known a little bit more about that.

Thanks for the link

I have not ever seen a leather that they glued strips of scrap together. Not cost effective, better to use vinyl and cheaper if you want cheap. It would fall apart before it got to the showroom

I am supposing that the term bonded was used in the context of bi-cast. Bi-cast is a promotional process, and yes you can use the word resine, and they dye it with tradtional leather dyes, and so on, not shoe polish, come on. But if you want to spend $600 and only $600 and are ok with it lasting a few years or more, I think it is a good value to our poster here.

Not to disagree in your explanition there,
A. Full grain (uncorrected hides),
B. fully aniline dyed(alinine dyed but no lacquer treatment, softer but has lots of color changes though out the hide, can still be a full hide),
C.Semi aniline dyed (alinine dyed but a thin layer of lacquer on the hide giving it a soft and yet protected layer, more color consistancy,sometimes even having a two tone look),
D. Protected (alinine dyed and lots of lacquer giving in more color consistancy than the other types).

All these leathers are ALL top grain, or the outer layer of the hide. I know of NO leather where they have veneered two leathers together. No reason to do so. All leathers have to be split off, or they are too thick and not plyable enough to even sit on. Some thick leathers I have seen are stiff like a board. And very hard to sew or upholster.

You pay more for a thin leather or a thicker leather because they have to do something extra for that feel. You may pay more for certain looks, because they have to find the hides you are looking for. Hides are a commodity.

Take a thin leather, very plyable, very expensive because they made it just for that purpose. How long will it last? 20-30 years. Why? If semi aniline dyed (semi protected with lacquer) you would not even wear the lacquer off during those years.

Top grain is just a term that they are not using the split or the secondary layer. But again, I will stress, they split off on all hides very early on the top hide off. They have to. The split gets used for purses, shoes, belts and yes, bi-cast which is a NEW process say the last 5 years or so.

This post is old, but, for furniture that will actually get lots of use: BEWARE BONDED "LEATHER"!!!

Bi-cast is apparently a bit better, and apparently can take some wear-and-tear, but BONDED "leather" isn't really "leather" at all, and IT WILL FALL APART!

Apparently bi-cast is very thin sheets of the cheap underside of the hide that is colored and sealed with a polyurethane.
BONDED leather is tiny leather scraps that are ground up and "recycled" with chemicals and formed into sheets and adhered to a fabric backing and sealed with poly.

I recently purchased two PERFECT aqua 1950's-style armchairs that are to die for (looks-wise). I got them at Overstock, as it was the only place I could find them - $300 each. They not only look great, but they are actually very comfortable to sit in.

Problems: first, because ALL fake leathers (bi-cast, bonded, vinyl) are essentially PLASTIC, you actually STICK to the chair. ANNOYING! NOT AT ALL LIKE GENUINE FULL-GRAIN LEATHER! So, in summer a fake leather chair simply SUCKS!

Big problem: When they arrived I noticed that one seat cushion had a teeny-tiny pin-prick in it. I looked at it and peeled it back - the bonded "leather" is literally tissue-paper thin and adhered to a white woven fabric. In otherwords, BONDED LEATHER WILL NOT LAST!!!

I have some heavy-duty Mid-Mod upholstery fabric that compliments the aqua chairs, so I intend to recover the seat cushions with that, since the seats get the most wear. But, once the arms get scratched, the chairs will be USELESS and will have to be dumped.

As for "eco-friendly" GENUINE LEATHER is best - it lasts FOREVER even with kids, dogs and cats, and when you decide to get a new sofa you can remove the leather and re-use it on other things like covering ottomans and chairs.

If you are determined to not use (or pay for) genuine leather, then go with a high-grade Upholstery or Marine-Grade Vinyl - that will last, but you will still stick to it. Otherwise, consider any furniture made from Bonded or bi-cast "leather" as a short-term trendy item (think Ikea quality) that will be ditched sooner than later.

Sadly, it seems the invention of "Bonded" and "Bi-Cast" "leathers" has actually made finding GENUINE Leather furniture very difficult, and much more expensive than it was (even accounting for inflation) a decade ago. So, genuine leather is now totally out of my price-range, therefore (since I HATE when my skin sticks to my furniture) FABRIC is the only way I can afford to go now. High-quality ultra-suede is cheaper (but not "cheap") and the next best thing after Genuine Leather for wear-and-tear and long-lasting quality.

Their is a debate if Bi-cast or Bonded leather is good for the environment. As the leather scraps are bio-degradable, but after made into a leather like product, its not so bio-degradable, but a plastic now. Not good for landfills.

Worldwide demand for Leather is increasing and the supply for hides is not keeping up with this demand. So tanneries are processing more high-end leather and the lower leather price points are moving up.

But their are some very good points made here by
Laura11106
louisshanks
natschultz

I think you will find that if you can't afford a high end leather it would be better to choose a lower cost pigmented leather than a bonded leather. With a pigment leatehr which I belive are about 75% of leathers sold the surface is more or less painted on as the leather surface is not good enough on its own. There are some advantages to a pigmented leather in that they clean up easily and can withstand sunlight and heat like in your car. The disadvantages are they don't look as natural, tend to be hotter in summer and colder in winter and when they do scratch they look worse. All in all I think it is is a better choice than bonded and will last longer.

I purchased a bonded leather sofa in 2011. In 2013 it started to show delimitation. Then it started to flake badly. I contacted the store where it was purchased. The next day they called saying they would give me the full price paid as a credit for anything in the store. That is the good part.
We were told the bonding had some cotton in it & that was the problem. They said it has been corrected. I don't know but we will replace the sofa but not with bonded leather.

Metal based sofas are the most durable furniture accessories in your drawing room...

I would like to clear up some misconceptions about "bonded" leathers.

When this fabric category first appeared there were several different technologies tried with varying results. Bicast was one of those early technologies.

I currently deal with dozens of fabric suppliers and have not seen a "bicast" leather for many years.

Today's "bonded" leathers are good, stable products that cost about the same as good quality vinyls and have many of the same properties.

That is because basically they are vinyls.

Although "bonded" leathers typically are made up of 10% - 20% "genuine" leather, all of that genuine leather is composed of leftover scraps which have been thoroughly chopped up, mixed with adhesives and turned into a backing for a vinyl fabric.

The face of the "bonded" leather that you see and touch has no real leather at all. It is 100% vinyl (usually polyurethane.)

The only "genuine" leather contained in "bonded" leather is used in the backing that you can't see or touch.

Although I have never seen or heard any reports of this leather backing peeling off or delaminating from the vinyl face, it provides absolutely none of the benefits consumers generally believe they are receiving when buying a "leather" sofa.

If you can afford it I would suggest getting a full aniline dyed leather which means it is dyed all the way through. Think of it like a carrot when cut in half it is the same color everwhere as opposed to a raddish which has color on the outside and is white on the inside.

Buyer beware! I have had a painful lesson in what bonded leather is -- a thin layer of plasticky material over a rubbery layer of foamy material, and the thin layer easily separates when friction is applied (imagine sitting down and getting up on a hot day) and soon starts peeling up leaving the underlayment exposed. If it's cheap, it most likely ain't leather, and bonded leather ain't no substitute for even high quality vinyl, much less leather.

BE AWARE OF HOME STRETCH FURNITURE !!! Cheap and not well made... Cushions will flatten out within a month of purchase!!

Just remember bonded leather is not genuine leather. Although leather is part of the descriptive name it is still a man made material and no one should expect to get the wear and life out of furniture upholstered using a man made material. Nothing wears like real leather.

I can't think of one instance where I would recommend a bonded leather.

I am sorry but I bought one from Ashley in what they call durablend which is bonded leather. To be honest I love mine had it for a month and feel so much softer. Its more eaiser to maintain and clean and it does not feel as thick real leather when top grain gets wet the dyes begain to show and bleed it also fades more quicker. Topgrain leather may feel good and be better quilty but if you take care of your bonded leather couch it can last you as long as top grain. Its all about how you perceive your veiw on Iike the softness the feel and the look as well as the easy maintenance. I hope mine last for a long time with all the bad talk I thought it would flake ate peel after month too. Hope your luck is as good as mine.

I'm with you, Christopher. I also bought a bonded leather sofa (sectional) and I really love it. I've owned top grain leather before but this bonded leather is softer to the touch and seems to hold up very well. I prefer what I call "disposable" prices so I can change it out in 5 years or so but this may indeed last a lot longer than expected. And you are 100% correct about the fading of real leather, at least that is what I experienced. My sofa is comfortable, easy to clean, looks great and was inexpensive!

I have four black bonded leather chairs I purchased about two years ago and I use conditioner/cleaner on them every couple of moths ore so and they still look brand new.

I had genuine leather bought 2006 ($1500) and because the seat is not deep enough, I sold them in 2011 with a excellent condition $800 (5 years and never put conditioner) and bought another one in the same year (2011) but bonded leather sofa ($1200). Now after 5 years (2016), the condition much much worse than genuine leather I bought in 2006. All the leathers are peel off badly (also never put conditioner). I just need to throw them away (no value).

My tips when buy leather sofa

1. Price Never Lies. In this time, if sofa with RRP is below $2500, guarantee it is not genuine leather. All genuine leather at least $4000 and up RRP

2. Seller Business Model. If shop sell all expensive sofas (Harvey Norman, Nick Scali, etc), they won't sell any "fake" leather sofa because it will jeopardise their genuine leather sofas. Vice versa. A shop sell cheap and "fake" leather sofa, they will not sell any of genuine leather sofa because no one will believe it's genuine.

So combination of both (example Harvey Norman sell 50% discount sofa from $4000 to $2000), it's a golden opportunity to buy a genuine leather at a good price.

My bonded leather sofa after 5 years

Avoid bonded leather at all costs! We purchased bonded leather dining chairs from Costco. After about 1 year all the "leather" peeled off. Some of the chairs had hardly been used. Not having learned our lesson, we purchased bonded leather easy chairs from Target. Again, after about a year the "leather" began peeling off in chunks large and small. Huge mess. And, we never really used the chairs.

I too like Christopher bought the ashley three piece set very happy with it...good quality...hope it last...

I too bought a sofa from Ashley Durablend and after 5 years it's cracked and peeling. My children are grown and my animals are small and I always have a blanket on the side that they lay on. My little 10lb dog sits on the top of the sofa from time to time, not everyday but you can see the wear and peeling. You can see the side where

I see this discussion keeps going... I have bonded leather furniture from CostPlus World Market. Some 2 years old, some about 6 years old. It's still in amazingly good condition. I do NOT use cleaners on it. I have a feeling this contributes to decay for some types of bonded leathers. I just use a damp cloth to dust/clean.

I do agree that the "bonded leather" sticks to you in heat. It also will never get that lovely worn look of leather, but then it's not really showing wear at all. I kind of wish it would, as I'd like an excuse to reupholster the bigger pieces.

I have never used a cleaner on my bonded leather office chair, but I'm constantly picking up the debris from the peeling thin layer of vinyl or whatever it is. The only leather in this chair is ground up leather scraps mixed with a bonding agent. The part that looks like leather is actually a thin plastic-like film that rubs off and disintegrates under normal use, revealing the actual leather-bonding-agent material beneath, which has a rough, slightly sueded appearance, but no telling what chemical compounds you're exposing yourself to when you sit on it. If you can't afford real leather, skip the bonded leather in favor of vinyl or leatherette that at least are durable.

I have done a lot of research into this as I'm about to purchase new sofas. Overall, bonded leather is NOT recommended by leather experts. So I'm opting to pay more for full leather, with matching vinyl sides. This saves money and should last so long as one doesn't have cats and such putting their claws into it. I'm going to purchase sofa covers made of Crypton for my little dog to be able to lay on it beside me. Crypton is the most endurable fabric made at this time.

I also read that if one can't afford leather, polyurethrane material is good, second to Crypton...

Leather match is what its usually called when all the places you touch is real leather and the outsides or other parts are a vinyl that is the same color. But their 2 completely different materials, thus they will age differently, thus its very likely in a few years you will notice a difference depending on the color and if the sofa is placed near a window or hvac vent. Black is usually the safer color then greys and it just gets worse for blues, browns, whites, creams, etc.

Bonded leather is rubbish. we purchased abonded leather sof suite from furniture Bazarr and after a year it began to peel and crack so we had a vinyl repair man repair the worst areas and decided to move our seating to the front lounge leaving the bonded leather suite having very little use however it deteriorated to a point where it was not of acceptable appearance due to cracking and peeling. Furniture Bazaar was not interested in any refund and stuck to the one year guarantee policy ignoring the Australian consumer laws that overide any retailers warranty. We now have fair trading involved and I thik we will win our claim as we are well protected under Australian consumer laws. As an interest the Australian ACCC took fantastic furniture to task involving bonded leather (amongst other retailers) and they were not only fined for misleading advertising but court ordered to not use the word leather unleess the product is real leather they also determined that the bonded leather was in facf only 10% leather. The fine under consumer law for false or misleading statements to gain a sale is 1.1 million dollars for a company and over $200000 for an individual. It is not in a retailers interest to deny a genuine claim as a complaint to ACCC could result in great expense to the retailer if ACCC proceeds with an action

I think, bottom line, one should not buy bonded leather for any item that gets a lot of use, especially a sofa. I just purchased three counter stools with bonded later, but we are a household of two and the stools will not get a lot of use, particularly from children. If they start to show wear, we'll just replace them, as we paid only $99 each for them. They look great in our kitchen and are very comfortable.