Breathability of leather

The breathability of leather

Breathability is one of the special properties of leather, which cannot yet be imitated with substitutes. It is the ability of the leather to let pass moisture in the form of vapor. Especially in shoes, this ability proves to be a blessing. In warm and waterproof hiking boots made of leather, you will never sweat as much as in rubber boots.

The ability to absorb sweat and humidity, but also the breathability, is also noticeable on car seats and leather furniture and is better then on imitation leather.

However, breathability is different depending on the type of leather. Sensitive, porous aniline leather has a significantly higher breathability than strongly pigmented car leather. Also other quality features such as firmness, color fastness, dirt resistance and overall longevity are important criteria for some applications of leather. For this purpose, the surface of smooth leather is protected by application of a color layer against stains and fading. This improves the durability and long-term appearance of the leather, but significantly reduces the vapor permeability, which is still significantly better than that of artificial leather.

Microscope photograph of the surface of an aniline leather. The open pores of the skin are clearly visible, which are not covered by a colour layer.