The Low-Down On Faux Leather Handbags

You may be considering investing in an animal-skin handbag that will last longer than the bag you're currently using. After all, those can't-do-without items like sunblock, hand lotion, tampons, tissues and lipstick that you carry around along with your wallet and keys can really be hell on a bag made of fabric. If ethics and economics are a consideration, however, you may want to think about getting one of the many faux leather handbags that are available instead.

In the past, no fashionista worth her salt would be caught dead with a bag made of faux leather. It looked cheap and artificial, after all. These days, however, it is much easier to get away with fake, not only because it is easier to justify ethically and economically, but also because manufacturers are producing more realistic looking and feeling materials.

More people are looking for alternatives to animal products, especially as vegetarianism and veganism are becoming more common. Animal-rights groups have also been putting pressure on the fashion industry to become cruelty free as more information becomes available about the practices involved in getting animal skin. Consumers are increasingly aware of the real cost of what they're buying and the impact this has on the world. As such, they are more inclined to use their spending power to dictate to the fashion industry instead of the other way round.

Consumers don't only think with their conscience, however. They also think with their pocket. This is why many consumers opt for synthetic products. These cost less to manufacture and cleaning and caring for them are usually much cheaper too.

Manufacturers of alternatives to animal hide use a variety of materials. Usually these are synthetic and plastic based. PVC, acrylic and polyurethane are the most common materials used, most often on their own but sometimes in combination with other synthetic or natural products.

One disadvantage of the synthetic materials is that they are not very environmentally friendly. Any plastic-type material takes many more years to break down than a natural material would. In addition, plastics are products of the petrochemical industry, which doesn't have the best environmental track record.

This longer breaking-down time can be an advantage, however. Synthetic hides can keep looking new for much longer than real hide. A bonus is that not only are they easily recycled, but they're often made of recycled materials from the start. This helps reduce plastic waste that would otherwise end up in landfills or in the ocean.

There are more environmentally friendly materials that are karma-free yet have the appearance and texture of real hide. Cork is used to make a product called cork leather, for instance, while kelp is the main source of so-called ocean leather. Finding these products can be difficult though. They can also be prohibitively expensive.