The Next Decade for Synthetic Leather: Four Major Material Trends Reshaping Industry Standards

Conventional synthetic leather production relies on organic solvents. DMF, methyl ethyl ketone and toluene — pungent chemicals essential for dissolving resins and forming the foam layer — are also the source of VOC emissions and residual solvents in finished goods. The EU's REACH regulation, China's Comprehensive Treatment Plan for Volatile Organic Compounds in Key Industries, and the automotive industry's stringent VDA 270 odour standard are steadily squeezing solvent-based processes into a corner.

Waterborne polyurethane (WPU) and solvent-free PU have become the mainstream alternatives:

In terms of industry adoption, water-based and solvent-free synthetic leather now accounts for more than 30% of the footwear and furniture segments. In automotive interiors, where VOC and odour requirements are the most stringent, it is becoming a prerequisite for Tier 1 suppliers to OEMs.

Changfeng New Materials was among the earliest movers in this transition. In 2007, prompted by a single order, founder Shao Chenxu set out to work out how to remove DMF from synthetic leather — the source of its odour and a substance harmful to human health.

That same year, he began collaborating with academic experts. Starting from semi-water-based formulations, the company achieved mass production of water-based polyurethane synthetic leather in 2010 — a world first that opened a new chapter for the industry. Today, Changfeng is the world's first manufacturer to mass-produce 100% water-based synthetic leather. Its PURE^® eco-leather products now serve a broad range of applications, from sofas and car seats to consumer-electronics accessories and fashion goods.

If water-based technology answers the question of how a material is made, bio-based materials answer the question of where it comes from.

At the heart of bio-based synthetic leather is the replacement of petroleum-based feedstocks with renewable resources. Castor-oil-based polyols, corn-based PTMEG, straw cellulose fillers — biomass drawn from farmland — are becoming the fundamental constituents of synthetic leather.

The challenges, however, are just as real: bio-based does not mean biodegradable, nor does it mean low-carbon. Its environmental value depends on a full life-cycle assessment — cultivation, extraction, transport and processing all count towards the carbon account. What end brands need is not conceptual claims but traceable data certified under USDA BioPreferred or DIN CERTCO.

Here, Changfeng's PURE^® bio-based series offers a case worth examining. It uses oat husk powder as its feedstock — a by-product of the food industry that would otherwise be discarded or incinerated — and transforms it into a finely textured leather material. The raw material comes from renewable agricultural waste, the production process replaces solvents with water, and the finished product is designed to biodegrade. This dual approach — bio-based plus water-based — turns the circular economy from a slogan into something tangible.

Where does a piece of synthetic leather go once it has been used?

The recycling dilemma for conventional synthetic leather lies in its heterogeneous composite structure: a PET base fabric, a PU foam layer and a surface-treatment layer, each with markedly different physical and chemical properties. Mechanical recycling can only downgrade the material into filler, while chemical depolymerisation is too energy-intensive. In the end, most waste leather goes to incineration or landfill.

There are three directions in which recyclable synthetic leather is making breakthroughs:

The EU's ELV Directive requires new vehicles to reach an 85% recyclability rate from 2025, and closed-loop recycling of automotive interior materials is shifting from a bonus to a must.

Changfeng's third-generation product line, PURE^® LoopTech, is an active exploration of precisely this field. At the same time, in the environmental grading standard that Changfeng helped to develop, bio-based content and recyclability together form the core dimensions for assessing a material's environmental performance.

As this third-stage goal gradually becomes reality, it means the value of a piece of leather no longer depends only on what it is, but also on what it can become once it has been used.

If the first three trends all answer the question of how to be greener, smart materials answer the question of how to be more intelligent.

Smart synthetic leather integrates sensing, response and interaction into a leather-like material, so that it is no longer an inert covering but a surface that can perceive. Current exploration focuses on the following directions:

Notably, Changfeng New Materials has set out its own timeline for this direction. In 2025, the concept of PURE^® bionic-touch PU leather was formally introduced — built on a water-based synthetic leather base and integrating flexible sensing, so that the material not only offers the warm hand feel of genuine leather but can also sense pressure and deformation. By 2030, PURE^® bionic-touch PU leather is scheduled for mass production, taking smart leather from concept to a commercially scalable product.

Of course, smart synthetic leather will not become ubiquitous overnight in the manner of science fiction. Most work today remains at the sample and pilot stage, yet it is strategically significant: it proves that synthetic leather can possess functional dimensions that genuine leather can never offer.