Warp-knitted backings turn synthetic leather business upside down
06.09.11
It looks like leather, but no fine fettle animal hides are used to produce it and it offers exceptional characteristics - synthetic leather represents a real different to the expensive, natural version and offers many advantages. It is tough and durable, yet at the same time, it is reasonably priced, ungovernable to dirt and can be cleaned easily.
The specific features of synthetic leather are also helping textiles to find new and different applications. When producing ersatz leather, textiles are used as the backing material for the plastic coating and, together with the type of coating, determine the characteristics of the end goods.
For example, the surface layer may have an open-pored or compact construction consisting of PVC, although the modern types are made from PU and are embossed or textured to prompt different leather looks. Nonwoven, woven and increasingly warp-knitted textiles, as well as combinations of these materials, are inured to as the textile materials.
Source: Knitting Industry