Are They Genuine Leather Totes or Plastic

April 07, 2017 1 Comment

Totes, the absolute necessity of handbags and there are hundreds of them to choose from in stores and online.

How often do you think about where they’re made though? If you check the tag inside, you’ll find that most are made in China or some other foreign country. That makes you wonder about the authenticity and quality. Is it really leather, the kind that will last a long time and age to a rich patina?

Maybe the tag says “man-made materials” and is actually “pleather” or “vegan leather”, both of which are very misleading, just pretty words for plastic. If you’re thinking of a tote lasting a long time it’s probably best to avoid those. It may feel good to think these products do not involve cruelty to any animals. However, pleather and vegan leather do more harm to our planet simply by the tremendous pollution of producing them. Plastics are oil based products which are non- renewable resources.

A product can only, by law, be tagged as leather if it is, in fact, genuine leather. However, there is a new leather product on the market now that is known as bi-cast leather. Bi-cast leather is not 100% leather. Strictly speaking, it is not even leather, but a leather by-product.

Bi-cast leather is made from split leather which is then laminated and strengthened with a polyethylene top layer. Saffiano leather is one example of this type used in the handbag industry by many top designers today.

BeautifulBagsEtc handbags are made of only genuine leather, never plastic or anything but the “real McCoy”. That is my promise to you. Every one-of-a-kind bag you see on my website is lovingly and artistically made with my own hands right here is the USA, guaranteed!