is a brand name for

artificial leather Artificial leather, also called synthetic leather, is a material intended to substitute for leather in upholstery, clothing, footwear, and other uses where a leather-like finish is desired but the actual material is cost prohibitive or unsuitab ...

manufactured by

Kuraray is a Japanese manufacturer of chemicals, fibers and other materials. Their main manufacturing facilities are located in Kurashiki, Okayama. The company's Tokyo administrative offices are located in Otemachi, Chiyoda in the Ote Center Building ...

Co., Ltd. of Japan. It is commonly used in gloves, footwear, handbags, and law enforcement duty gear. Versions are made that simulate

suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was fir ...

and top-grain leather. Being a man-made material, it is washable and retains its softness when wet, unlike natural leather. After many decades of development, Clarino has achieved performance that exceeds that of leather in some applications, especially where the item may be exposed to water, such as riding saddles. Top grain leather applications include "

patent leather Patent leather is a type of coated leather that has a high-gloss finish. The coating process was introduced to the United States and improved by inventor Seth Boyden, of Newark, New Jersey, in 1818, with commercial manufacture beginning Septe ...

" shoes that retain high gloss without the need for polish. During manufacturing, it is microscopically perforated to give it breathability similar to that of natural leather. Clarino is based on a non-woven fabric composed of special synthetic fibers that are intertwined three-dimensionally. The material's softness and suppleness arise from the structure of the non-woven fabric's special fibers, superfine fiber construction and tiny cavities. Clarino is made from blended

nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...

and

polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefins and ...

fibers, as well as a sponge-like

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethan ...

binder. Firstly, the nylon and polypropylene fibers are blended using a blend-spinning technique. The blended fiber is then shredded into fine pieces and filtered. After this, the nylon is

eluted In analytical and organic chemistry, elution is the process of extracting one material from another by washing with a solvent; as in washing of loaded ion-exchange resins to remove captured ions. In a liquid chromatography experiment, for exam ...

and coagulated. The fibers absorb polyurethane and coagulate in water. This allows the nonwoven fabric and sponge-like binder to form around the same time. This process was developed in 1964.

References

Artificial leather Japanese brands Kuraray {{material-stub