Foreword

This British Standard is published by BSI Standards Limited, under licence from The British Standards Institution.

BS 2780:1983+A1:2013 supersedes BS 2780:1983, which is withdrawn.

Text introduced or altered by Amendment No. 1 is indicated in the text by tags . Minor editorial changes are not tagged.

This British Standard, having been prepared under the direction of the Textile Products and Leather Standards Committee, supersedes BS 2780:1972 which is withdrawn.

The first edition of BS 2780, which was prepared by the Leather Descriptions Council and approved by the Leather Industry Standards Committee, was published in 1956. In 1972 a revised edition was published which amended the definitions, where appropriate, to conform with those given in the International Glossary of Leather Terms published by the International Council of Tanners in 1968. A second edition of the International Glossary of Leather Terms was published in 1975 and the definitions in this revised edition of BS 2780 conform, where appropriate, to this second edition together with the amendments to it that have been approved in the interim period.

The scope of this glossary is governed by the following principles.

a) Certain terms having somewhat more restricted meanings for retailers than for tanners require multiple descriptions.
b) Terms the meaning of which are self-evident, e.g. football leather and upholstery leather, are omitted unless there is an alternative meaning, e.g. seal leather, or other special reason for their inclusion.
c) Processing terms are not included unless they help to clarify the definition of a type of leather.

As a matter of principle, leather should not be described, without suitable qualification, by the name of an animal unless it is made from the whole hide or skin of that animal or its top split (see below). A number of descriptions that pre-date the publication of the first edition of this glossary in 1956 are in common use and are well understood by the public, e.g. chamois leather. These exceptions are, because of their de facto use, included in the glossary.

A further principle is that if leather made from the hide or skin of one animal is made to look like the hide or skin of a different animal, the name of this second animal may only be used to describe the leather if the name of the hide or skin actually used is also clearly stated. This is done by using the name of the animal imitated as an adjective and the name of the actual hide or skin as a substantive, e.g. sheep leather that has been finished to look like peccary may be termed “peccary grain sheep” but not “peccary” alone.

A final principle is that where a definition refers to a section or portion of a raw hide or skin, such as belly, grain and split, and also to the leather made therefrom, the leather may either be made from the previously sectioned raw hide or skin, or cut or split from the tanned whole hide or skin. For example, “butt leather” may be made either by tanning a raw butt or by cutting it from the tanned whole side. Similarly, “split leather” may be made either by tanning a raw split or by splitting it from a tanned hide. Furthermore, leather made from a flesh or middle split should not, without qualification, be described by the name of the animal, e.g. “crocodile leather” refers to that layer containing the original grain. Other layers should be described as “crocodile split”.

Certain species of animal may from time to time be included in the Endangered Species list under the Washington Convention, and the sale of products made from them may be prohibited or restricted, or they may need to be specially identified, e.g. seal leather. In general, the glossary does not specially identify these materials, unless there are alternative meanings that do not require special identification, e.g. seal leather.

It is essential that manufactured articles made from leather in conjunction with other materials are labelled as prescribed by the relevant legislation or British Standard.

Where a reference is given in italics, it is to a synonymous term.

A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

BS 2780:1983+A1:2013

Glossary of Leather terms

Current

Published:

28 Feb 1983