What is SofTex® Leather?
SofTex® leather is a synthetic material used in Toyota vehicles.
It’s been designed for easy cleaning to resist spills and better wear properties. SofTex is about half the weight of genuine leather skins. Its manufacturing process is unique compared to other synthetic leathers as it uses around 85% fewer CO2 emissions and 99% fewer Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) than conventional synthetic leather.
SofTex contains no animal based materials, so fitting for vegans.
SofTex Leather Seats in a Toyota
SofTex is a thermoplastic polyurethane material designed to feel luxurious and soft with great stain resistant properties, it’s cheaper than leather and is a better material according to Toyota than fabric.
Toyota claim its advantages over leather is to stay cool and is more breathable than leather, this material will feel cool as it’s plastic, so in winter months this can feel extremely cold to touch.
Cleaning of SofTex is the same as any synthetic material, care has to be taken on the products used to ensure the surface is not broken down and the life span of the material is prolonged. Cleaning with harsh chemical based products will ruin synthetic materials very quickly causing damage that in reality can only be replaced once cracking has started.
SofTex is a vinyl type material that is claimed to be better than genuine leather. With any fake material cleaning and care is always easy and can in most cases, be cleaned with almost any type of normal cleaning material, but care still has to be taken.
The life span of vinyls is no where near as long as leather, also repairs are not as successful as they are with genuine leather items. Leather has that genuine smell where as vinyl will always have that plastic smell and touch, has a natural ability to grip, plastic just makes you slide on the surface of the seats.