The highest quality of leather made from goatskin comes from Morocco, a North African country.
So when you purchase Moroccan leather bags or products, you should thank the local artisans and craftspeople.
But there are also many fake and counterfeit products circulating in the name of genuine Moroccan leather in the market. In this article, you will learn how to identify authentic leather.
Check the Label
Looking at the label is the first thing you should do when buying leather bags. Although the fake leather goods won’t necessarily read that they’re fake, they won’t claim that they’re genuine either.
Hence, if there’s no labeling, certification, or marking, it’s perhaps a fake leather product.
Faux leathers will have labels like “man-made material,” “synthetic,” “polyvinyl chloride,” and things along those lines.
Products made of goatskin will read “100% real leather” with confidence. You can request more information from the retailer or check the company’s website.
If possible, you should ask for computational results used to evaluate goat leather quality.
Look at the Surface
Once you’ve confirmed the label, you should look closely at the surface. Fake leather will never look the same as genuine leather.
Goat leather, in particular, is very smooth and soft, but it’s not uniform. By touching the surface, you’d be able to perceive the blemishes and imperfection.
When there’s slight imperfection, you can confirm that it’s genuine leather.
Fake leather is made from synthetic materials in machines. Hence, they achieve near-perfect texture and uniformity. Genuine leather can never have this kind of consistency.
Run your fingers across the surface. If it’s smooth with no blemishes, then it’s probably a fake one. If there are blemishes, it’s most probably a genuine piece.
And that’s how you can differentiate a real leather bag from a fake one.
For goat leather specifically, you should check for pores. Goatskin is highly porous, and thus there should be more pores in natural leather.
These pores will be absent or present in fewer amounts in synthetic leather.
Fake Ones are Priced Cheaper
This should be the easiest but effective way to spot fake leather bags. In most cases, fake leather bags will be priced less than genuine leather bags as the artificial leather is cheaper to produce, store, and distribute.
Genuine goat leather, the ones prepared in Morocco, is made by skilled craftsmen with hands, making them expensive.
So when buying genuine leather bags, you should consider the price tag and shop for the expensive ones.
Smell the Leather
You can differentiate between a genuine and fake goat leather product by smelling it. Natural leathers will always carry their distinctive leathery smell that gets prominent as you use it more.
Fake leather products don’t have an option to include the natural skin smell into their products. So they’ll smell like plastic or even fragrant, which is a clear sign that you’re dealing with a fake leather product.
By using the above-mentioned simple techniques, you can differentiate between a genuine product and a fake one.
When you’re buying online, you should be even more vigilant. Ensure that you’re buying Moroccan leather bags from reputed vendors.
Read through the reviews to get a sense of their reputation.