Leather conforms to its environment.
It adapts to the temperature of a room, or your body on it and will maintain a consistent temperature that will feel good on your skin.

No, leather will not crack or peel over time in normal using conditions. What can happen is for the color finish that was applied to crack or peel. This can usually be repaired, think of it like paint on a wall.

Bear in mind that the finish cannot be easily repaired in all cases, and that the finishing process may leave scars.

Markings such as scars, insect bites, wrinkles and veining are natural characteristics of genuine leather. If you purchase leather from the Digiò Protecta family, one that has been protected and finished to create a consistent, uniform look and feel- then you will see fewer marks. However, leather from our Natural family will show more natural markings, such as insect bites, scars and stretch marks, as well as color variations. These color variations can occur within the same hide because there is no finish applied to give the look of consistent color like in our Protecta family. This is an indication of the authenticity of the leather, and should not be considered a defect. Actually, it should be treated as a “mark” of true, high quality leather.

Yes. Leather is actually a by-product from the beef industry.
The largest consumer of leather is the shoe industry.
Only about ten percent of the world’s hide production is used for furniture.

If you are worried about your pets damaging leather you should look at the most appropriate leather for a home with pets. You should probably go with our Protecta family, since it is more easily repaired. Repairs are also likely to be less noticeable because of the color finishing that is applied to this family of leather.

The main factor determining the grade of leather is the origin of the raw hide. Hides come from all over the world and are sorted by the amount of natural characteristics that are present on them. Since hides with fewer characteristics are rarer, they usually are more expensive, and require less processing to be turned into leather suitable for upholstery. Hides from the Southern Hemisphere are more abundant and tend to show more of the natural characteristics of leather. They are less supple than hides from the Northern Hemisphere. Hides from the Southern Hemisphere usually represent the majority of the Protecta family of leathers. Generally speaking, the higher grades of leather come from hides raised in the Northern Hemisphere. However, we do use some hides from the Southern Hemisphere in our Natural collection. Natural hides, by their nature, have some natural characteristics and will show some variation in color. This is not a defect.

A very important part of the final product’s price is based on the leather’s characteristics. As grades of leather increase, the cost of the final product also increases. However there are many other factors that affect pricing including: dimension, style, leg type and stitching details. Digiò Leather spends a great deal of effort to make sure your sofa is aesthetically pleasing from every angle. So if you decide to place your sofa or sectional in the middle of your room, you will notice the design detail given to the entire sofa.

Natural Leather = Unfinished Leathers = More natural characteristics / shading differences
Protecta Leather = Finished Leathers = Less natural characteristics / More uniform look

We offer several different articles of leather and each is available in a variety of colors. Some are thicker, some are thinner, some have a second color added for effect, some are embossed and some are smooth. The total color assortment changes constantly, and exceeds 150 different leather colors. The choice is yours, based on your preferences and your lifestyle.

Split: all leather hides have to be split because a hide is too thick to upholster or use in any type of manufacturing. The hide goes into a machine where a blade slices the hide into two hides. The bottom hide is known as split leather. This hide can be sanded down (corrected) and embossed with a consistent graining pattern to be used on the outside back and sides of sofa for a slight cost saving to achieve certain price points. A split leather is still 100% leather, and has all the same finishing treatments as the top grain portion.

Top Grain: in the above process the top portion of the hide is the top grain portion. It is generally used in the areas that receive more wear since the fiber of top grain is more compact than that of split grain. Full Grain is top grain leather that uses the natural grain of the hide. No correction is made to the grain.

Corrected Grain: top grain leather that has been sanded down to reduce some of the visual natural characteristics. Of the various types of corrections, the most common is to sand down, and completely remove the natural grain and then emboss a consistent graining pattern. Another type of correction is to lightly buff the hide to remove the peaks and valleys of the grain.

Embossed Grain: a consistent grain pattern is “pressed” into the leather using rollers. It can be as subtle as a small natural looking grain pattern, or as different as a crocodile pattern.

Grades of Leather: the main determining factor of a grade of leather is origin of the raw hide. The grade of the leather determines its price

Pull-up: aniline – dyed leather that has been waxed or oiled. When the leather is pulled, the oil/wax separates, causing the color to lighten.

Ecoflex Foam: the high resiliency foam used in all Natuzzi cushions. It is manufactured by our IMPE division and is free of Freon CFC pollutants.

Foams of varying density: we use more than ten different densities of foam. This allows for ideal customized comfort, design, and support.

Wadding: a multiple layer of thermo-bonded fiber, wrapped around seat cushion cores to add shape and comfort.

Webbing: the patented industrial strength elastic webbing which is used in the deck and back for suspension. This is a 100% resilient material, which is used in the automotive and airline industries and takes the place of more traditional metal springs. There are some distinct advantages in the use of webbing. It provides consistent support across the entire length of the frame; it does not make any noise, it does not rust, and there is no risk of coil springs protruding through the cushions.

Frame construction varies from model to model. We use an engineered frame, which is a combination of solid woods such as fir/spruce or beech with plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), particle board, and a Masonite wrap. Some frames include metal or exposed carved pieces of the frame. The suspension uses an elastic webbing system that is completely durable and 100% resilient. This means that over time the suspension system of our engineered frame will outlast any spring type of construction. The types of designs that we produce benefit from this style of construction because it is easily adaptable to all styles of furniture from classic frames with nail heads to modern open base models.

A cleaning kit is available for purchase in our stores. Alternatively, we recommend that you clean your leather upholstery using a neutral soap diluted with water and a dry, soft, white cloth. We do not recommend any type of conditioner or chemical to be placed on the sofa. Simply dusting the sofa, and cleaning up spots when they occur, should help keep your sofa looking good for its expected life. Remember that leather is a natural material that can change appearance as it ages.

More info:
– LEATHER COVERING
– PROTECTA LEATHER COLLECTION
– NATURAL LEATHER COLLECTION

All leathers will fade by some degree over time. Leather directly exposed to sunlight will fade faster. Protecta leathers will resist fading longer than Natural leathers.