Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides(skins of large animals).
Although we can process the skins and hides of the horse, pig, kangaroo, sheep, goat, deer, reptile, seal and even the eel into leather, the leather we use for upholstery comes almost all from cattle hide which is most durable and economical for the purpose. Through an ancient process called tanning, cattle hides, a by-product of the beef industry that may otherwise go to waste, are transformed into beautiful and supple leather. The largest consumer of leather is the shoe industry. Only about ten percent of the world's hide production is used for upholstery.
Contrary to popular belief upholstery leather is not very complex to understand. There are only four kinds of leathers you need to know to do intelligent shopping. They are Top Grain Leather, Split Leather, Full Grain Leather and Corrected Grain Leather.
-Updated January 24, 2013
