There is room for development in the synthetic leather industry, and green environmental protection will become the mainstream trend

Synthetic leather belongs to the subdivision of plastic products. It refers to plastic products made of impregnated non-woven fabric as the mesh layer and microporous polyurethane layer as the grain layer. As a microfiber material, synthetic leather is closer to natural leather in texture and performance than artificial leather. It has the advantages of breathability, strength, and wear resistance.

According to the “2022-2027 Special Survey Report on Synthetic Leather Benchmark Companies and Competitors released by the Industrial Research Center, affected by the new coronavirus Affected by the epidemic, many synthetic leather manufacturers in my country have suspended production. Coupled with national environmental protection policy restrictions, small and medium-sized enterprises with serious pollution and backward production capacity have been gradually eliminated from the market, resulting in the gradual decline of synthetic leather production in my country. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, my country’s output of plastic artificial leather and synthetic leather reached 2.876 million tons in 2021, a year-on-year decrease of 11.0%. The production areas of synthetic leather in my country are concentrated in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Hebei, Fujian, Jiangsu, Anhui and other places. At present, Anhui, Fujian and Zhejiang are the regions with the highest synthetic leather output in my country, accounting for nearly 70% of the country’s total output.

Because the industry threshold is low and the production technology is relatively simple, my country’s synthetic leather industry is dominated by small and medium-sized production enterprises, and the market concentration is low. Tianan New Materials, Amway Co., Ltd., Hexin Industrial, and Tongda Group are the leading synthetic leather companies in my country. Guangdong Tianan New Materials has the invention patent certificate for “raw material composition of synthetic leather surface layer and synthetic leather” and is a national high-tech enterprise. According to the annual report of Tianan New Materials Enterprise, the company achieved revenue of 2.07 billion yuan in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 137.5%. The rubber and plastic products industry, mainly synthetic leather, accounted for 66.7% of total revenue.

Synthetic leather requires the use of chemical solvents during the production process, which easily produces waste gas pollution. Xylene, toluene, N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), etc. are the main pollutants emitted during the production process of synthetic leather. In 2020, the Ministry of Environment issued the “2020 Volatile Organic Compounds Control Plan”, which clearly proposed to focus on investigating environmental pollution problems in chemical industries such as synthetic leather and promote industrial optimization and integration. Driven by policies, green and environmentally friendly synthetic leather has gained broad market prospects.

As a subdivision of synthetic leather, PU synthetic leather has the characteristics of genuine leather texture, low production cost, strong and durable, and its performance has exceeded that of natural leather. In recent years, with the continuous promotion of supply-side structural reforms, the demand and output of natural leather have gradually declined. PU synthetic leather has gained a large market space with its advantages of high cost performance and green environmental protection.

Industry analysts said that synthetic leather is often used in the production of furniture, shoes, clothing, bags, etc., and my country is a major country in the production and application of synthetic leather. , driven by strong application demand, the synthetic leather market space continues to expand. Affected by factors such as national environmental protection policies and the deepening of supply-side structural reforms, my country’s highly polluting synthetic leather products will gradually be eliminated by the market, and PU synthetic leather will become the mainstream of the market as a green and environmentally friendly synthetic leather.