Aniline leather is a type of

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

dyed exclusively with soluble

dye Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical ele ...

s. The dye colours the leather without producing the uniform surface of a topcoat paint or insoluble pigmented sealant, as on other leathers, and so retains the hide's natural surface. Hence, any visible variations on the surface of the undyed leather such as visible pores, scars, or other blemishes will remain visible. For this reason, only high-quality leather is suitable for aniline finishing. Originally, the dyes used for this process were synthesized from

aniline Aniline (From , meaning ' indigo shrub', and ''-ine'' indicating a derived substance) is an organic compound with the formula . Consisting of a phenyl group () attached to an amino group (), aniline is the simplest aromatic amine. It is an in ...

through

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemistry, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. When chemical reactions occur, the atoms are rearranged and the reaction is accompanied by an Gibbs free energy, ...

s. These dyes used to be called '

aniline dyes Aniline (From , meaning ' indigo shrub', and ''-ine'' indicating a derived substance) is an organic compound with the formula . Consisting of a phenyl group () attached to an amino group (), aniline is the simplest aromatic amine. It is an ind ...

' or 'tar dyes'. In modern times, the dyes used are subject to laws and regulations in many countries, and the use of certain

azo compounds Azo compounds are organic compounds bearing the functional group diazenyl (, in which R and R′ can be either aryl or alkyl groups). IUPAC defines azo compounds as: "Derivatives of diazene (diimide), , wherein both hydrogens are substituted ...

is prohibited in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

as there are reasons to assume health risks.European Ban on Certain Azo Dyes
, Dr. A. Püntener and Dr. C. Page, Quality and Environment, TFL Aniline leather may be referred to as "full aniline" to differentiate between this dye treatment and variants. Semi-aniline leather is produced through a very similar process to full-aniline, but has a thin protective top coat added to protect it from wear and staining. Pull-up aniline leather has additional oil or wax applied to the leather to give it a distressed look.
, Leather Care Master

References

{{leather Leathermaking Leather