Bonded leather
Leather fiber , also called Lefa for short , is a material made from chrome shavings and shredded, vegetable-tanned leather residues from the leather processing industry (sole production, equestrian and orthopedic leather production), natural latex (binding agent), natural fats and tanning agents .
Lefa is in shoemaking mainly for back caps , heels , running - and insoles , as well as for so-called frame material used, but also in the leather goods and furniture industry and in the bindery. There it is used as a book cover , which has almost all the properties of leather (appearance, smell and feel ), but at a lower price than real leather. In product descriptions, leather fiber is often referred to as bonded leather or recycled leather . The use of the term leather fiber fabric or bonded leather is by the standard EN 15987 regulated "Leather - main definitions for the leather trade - terminology". Products with less than 50% leather may not be designated as leather fiber.
The company Salamander Industrie-Produkte in Türkheim is the world market leader in the manufacture of leather fiber fabrics . Cabra is one of their product names for book cover material .
In the area of furniture products, the ReCast brand from the USA can often be found - often referred to as "Recast", "Bicast" - or "Bycast" leather or "Faux leather". Some of these products contain less than 50% leather.