Is Coach using plastic and saying it's leather? I bought a small wallet made of what they call cross grain leather but it looks and feels like plastic. Smells like plastic too and this is from the main coach.com website. Anyone have the same experience or feel the same?
Is Coach using plastic?
- Thread starter ilec
- Start date
I have one crossgrain tote specifically for work/throwing around but other than that I stay far away from it and so do some others on here. I believe it's plastic-coated stamped split leather. I prefer glovetanned and pebbled.
Idk what kind of leather or other substance it is, but I despise cross grain leather and absolutely hate saffiano leather.
I have a Coach outlet bag made out of something that feels like saffiano leather. The outside looks and feels like plastic.
During my diy remodeling of this bag, I cut through the lining, and ripped out the stiff lining material from the leather. Once the leather was revealed, I was pleasantly surprised to find a really good quality, thick leather.
During my diy remodeling of this bag, I cut through the lining, and ripped out the stiff lining material from the leather. Once the leather was revealed, I was pleasantly surprised to find a really good quality, thick leather.
I will try to. It will be kinda hard to capture since it's a structured bag.Wow, please share photographs!
Regardless, I realized that a lot of handbag makers glue on a stiff material to the leather for ease of sewing. I wish they took the time to remove it after sewing, cuz the leather feels so much better after the glued on lining is removed.
They could have left it on for structure as well, but I prefer to feel the leather without the stiffness.
According to The Coach Screed, Coach has been using plastic coatings on many of their bags starting 10 or 15 years ago with the ones made in China. Federal labeling laws regarding leather description and content were changed about 20 years ago (I'm going from memory here so don't quote me) and Coach took advantage of the changes to add more plastic content, especially coatings. It explains why so many Coaches from the last 10 or 20 years have been thought to be counterfeit because they smelled and felt like plastic.
THIS, along with the six Salearea Coach Guides posted at the Coach Shopping sub-forum, should be required reading for any Coach buyer, seller and collector, it's VERY long but well worth your time:
and the Salearea Coach Guides, geared more toward vintage lovers. The first 13 posts are mostly background and some of the links in them no longer work but read them anyway. Read the entire thread for even more useful information:
forum.purseblog.com
THIS, along with the six Salearea Coach Guides posted at the Coach Shopping sub-forum, should be required reading for any Coach buyer, seller and collector, it's VERY long but well worth your time:
and the Salearea Coach Guides, geared more toward vintage lovers. The first 13 posts are mostly background and some of the links in them no longer work but read them anyway. Read the entire thread for even more useful information:
SaleArea guides
Now that ebay is removing the guides they've been hosting for years, those who use those guides have been forced to either save them on their computers or print them. Tonight I found that the Salearea guides (including the Hyacinth/Salearea collaboration ones) have been saved to Salearea's...
forum.purseblog.com
Full grain leatherAccording to The Coach Screed, Coach has been using plastic coatings on many of their bags starting 10 or 15 years ago with the ones made in China. Federal labeling laws regarding leather description and content were changed about 20 years ago (I'm going from memory here so don't quote me) and Coach took advantage of the changes to add more plastic content, especially coatings. It explains why so many Coaches from the last 10 or 20 years have been thought to be counterfeit because they smelled and felt like plastic.
THIS, along with the six Salearea Coach Guides posted at the Coach Shopping sub-forum, should be required reading for any Coach buyer, seller and collector, it's VERY long but well worth your time:
and the Salearea Coach Guides, geared more toward vintage lovers. The first 13 posts are mostly background and some of the links in them no longer work but read them anyway. Read the entire thread for even more useful information:
SaleArea guides
Now that ebay is removing the guides they've been hosting for years, those who use those guides have been forced to either save them on their computers or print them. Tonight I found that the Salearea guides (including the Hyacinth/Salearea collaboration ones) have been saved to Salearea's...
Top grain leather
Split leather
Bonded leather
I think the bag I cut open was probably underside of split leather and was coated with plastic and stamped to give texture.
My Coach glovetanned leather gloves don't feel or smell plastic at all. And my Swinger 20 bag in original natural leather definitely has nothing even hinting at plastic. Those, and a bracelet, were my only recent Coach purchases. So I guess it depends on what item/leather it is.
The Coach Screed is an eye opener. I learned a lot about leather there. And about Tapestry.According to The Coach Screed, Coach has been using plastic coatings on many of their bags starting 10 or 15 years ago with the ones made in China. Federal labeling laws regarding leather description and content were changed about 20 years ago (I'm going from memory here so don't quote me) and Coach took advantage of the changes to add more plastic content, especially coatings. It explains why so many Coaches from the last 10 or 20 years have been thought to be counterfeit because they smelled and felt like plastic.
THIS, along with the six Salearea Coach Guides posted at the Coach Shopping sub-forum, should be required reading for any Coach buyer, seller and collector, it's VERY long but well worth your time:
and the Salearea Coach Guides, geared more toward vintage lovers. The first 13 posts are mostly background and some of the links in them no longer work but read them anyway. Read the entire thread for even more useful information:
SaleArea guides
Now that ebay is removing the guides they've been hosting for years, those who use those guides have been forced to either save them on their computers or print them. Tonight I found that the Salearea guides (including the Hyacinth/Salearea collaboration ones) have been saved to Salearea's...
Yep, and that's why I will always prefer actual vintage leather Coaches. Except for some Kristins and a few other styles, almost all of my Coaches made since 2000 have been fabric bags.
Me too, completely changed my outlook to buying bags. For the better!!!
Thank you!According to The Coach Screed, Coach has been using plastic coatings on many of their bags starting 10 or 15 years ago with the ones made in China. Federal labeling laws regarding leather description and content were changed about 20 years ago (I'm going from memory here so don't quote me) and Coach took advantage of the changes to add more plastic content, especially coatings. It explains why so many Coaches from the last 10 or 20 years have been thought to be counterfeit because they smelled and felt like plastic.
THIS, along with the six Salearea Coach Guides posted at the Coach Shopping sub-forum, should be required reading for any Coach buyer, seller and collector, it's VERY long but well worth your time:
and the Salearea Coach Guides, geared more toward vintage lovers. The first 13 posts are mostly background and some of the links in them no longer work but read them anyway. Read the entire thread for even more useful information:
SaleArea guides
Now that ebay is removing the guides they've been hosting for years, those who use those guides have been forced to either save them on their computers or print them. Tonight I found that the Salearea guides (including the Hyacinth/Salearea collaboration ones) have been saved to Salearea's...
Wow, Hyacinth thanks for posting the coach screed. I read the whole thing. Very informative about leather, and eye-opening! and probably saved me hundreds of dollars.
Unfortunately in the United States it is buyer beware and businesses always win over unions and consumers. But if enough of us are informed consumers, we can make changes. I definitely won’t be buying a coach bag now. And unfortunately it’s not only coach, but products across-the-board, like appliances, furniture, pretty much everything, have been hollowed out with cheaper materials, but much more expensive prices.
This is my first comment here, just joined. Definitely worthwhile so far
Unfortunately in the United States it is buyer beware and businesses always win over unions and consumers. But if enough of us are informed consumers, we can make changes. I definitely won’t be buying a coach bag now. And unfortunately it’s not only coach, but products across-the-board, like appliances, furniture, pretty much everything, have been hollowed out with cheaper materials, but much more expensive prices.
This is my first comment here, just joined. Definitely worthwhile so far