Materials
Vegan leather, PU and the word leather: what the federal guides allow a bag to say
Vegan leather, PU leather, faux leather and plain leather appear on bag pages as if they meant the same thing. The federal guides that govern the word say otherwise, and they say it in one sentence. Here is what the guides require, what each material is, what the Missnine catalogue is made of when you count it, and how to care for each one.
15 minute read · sources read 4 September 2026
Vegan Leather Hobo Bag, Brown and Beige
vegan leather · 9.4 × 3.1 × 5.3 in
4.3 out of 5 from 192 ratings
$22.69
Available in 2 colours
Vegan Leather Hobo Bag III, Black
vegan leather · 10.6 × 3.5 × 11 in
4.5 out of 5 from 139 ratings
$18.99
One colourway
Vegan Leather Shoulder Bag, Black
vegan leather · 10.2 × 6.5 × 3.4 in
4.6 out of 5 from 122 ratings
$16.99
Available in 5 colours
One sentence that governs the word
The Federal Trade Commission keeps a set of guides for leather and imitation leather products, and the scope is written for exactly this catalogue: it names handbags, shoulder bags, purses, traveling bags, brief cases, wallets and key cases among the industry products it covers. The guides are interpretations, not a statute, but they say what the Commission treats as deceptive, and the core of it is short:
It is unfair or deceptive to use the unqualified term “leather” or other unqualified terms suggestive of leather to describe industry products unless the industry product so described is composed in all substantial parts of leather.16 CFR 24.2(a), Deception as to composition, read 4 September 2026
Unqualified is the word to hold on to. Leather on its own, with nothing beside it, may describe only a product made in all substantial parts of leather. Every other use needs a qualifier, and the guides say what the qualifier should do when the material is an imitation:
If all or part of an industry product is made of non-leather material that appears to be leather, the fact that the material is not leather, or the general nature of the material as something other than leather, should be disclosed.16 CFR 24.2(a), Imitation or simulated leather, read 4 September 2026
The guides then give the words that do the disclosing. The list is worth quoting as it stands, because it is the list a bag page ought to be drawing from:
For example: Not leather; Imitation leather; Simulated leather; Vinyl; Vinyl coated fabric; or Plastic.16 CFR 24.2(a), Imitation or simulated leather, read 4 September 2026
Vegan leather and PU leather are not on that list, and they are the two terms most bag pages use. They are qualifiers, and in practice they tell a shopper the material is not animal hide. Whether they disclose the general nature of the material as the guides ask is a question the guides leave to the reader. PU is polyurethane, a plastic, coated onto a fabric backing. Vegan leather is the same thing under a kinder name.
So on this site the material line prints the maker's word with the plastic named beside it. Vegan leather here means polyurethane on a fabric backing in the maker's description. Where a maker's title says leather and nothing else, and the bullets say PU, the page says vegan leather. Where the title says leather and the bullets say nothing, the page prints leather as the maker's word and does not add to it, because we have not seen the bag cut open.
What the Missnine range is made of, by the maker's word
Counted from the catalogue at the last update, one row per bag. Colourways share a material.
| Material as printed | Bags | Share |
|---|---|---|
| clear PVC | 29 | 43% |
| vegan leather | 26 | 39% |
| canvas | 4 | 6% |
| leather, as the maker states | 3 | 4% |
| quilted vegan leather | 3 | 4% |
| suede | 2 | 3% |
Vegan leather and clear PVC cover most of the range. Canvas is the laptop totes. Suede is a handful of hobos, and suede is real leather by definition, split from the underside of the hide. Where the maker's word is plain leather with no qualifier, the row says so.
Missnine shoulder bags with the material on the page
Vegan Leather Hobo Bag, Brown and Beige
vegan leather · 9.4 × 3.1 × 5.3 in
4.3 out of 5 from 192 ratings
$22.69
Available in 2 colours
Vegan Leather Hobo Bag III, Black
vegan leather · 10.6 × 3.5 × 11 in
4.5 out of 5 from 139 ratings
$18.99
One colourway
Vegan Leather Shoulder Bag, Black
vegan leather · 10.2 × 6.5 × 3.4 in
4.6 out of 5 from 122 ratings
$16.99
Available in 5 colours
What each material is, and does
Vegan leather, PU. Polyurethane coated onto a woven or knitted backing. It takes colour evenly, it is lighter than hide, and it wipes clean. It does not develop a patina. It wears at the edges and the corners, where the coating is thinnest, and a scuffed corner shows the backing. Kept out of heat and away from sharp keys it lasts years. It is not breathable, which matters for a bag worn against the body in July.
Clear PVC. Polyvinyl chloride sheet, welded or stitched at the seams. Stiff in the cold, soft in the heat, and it scratches. It is the material of the stadium bag because the rule requires a clear body, and the clear bag guide covers the rule.
Canvas. A heavy woven cotton, sometimes blended with polyester, on the Missnine laptop totes with a vegan leather trim. Canvas is light for its strength and it takes a load without stretching, and it is not waterproof: rain soaks it. A canvas tote with a laptop inside wants a sleeve.
Suede. Real leather, split from the inner side of the hide, with a napped surface. Soft, warm, and the material most likely to mark from rain and hand oil. The Missnine suede hobos are the exception in a range that is mostly plastic on fabric, and they are the bags to keep out of the rain.
Materials by bench
The maker's material word by bench, counted per bag.
| Bench | Bags | Materials the makers name most |
|---|---|---|
| Clear & Stadium Bags | 29 | clear PVC (29) |
| Laptop Totes & Work Bags | 7 | canvas (4), vegan leather (2), leather, as the maker states (1) |
| Backpack Purses | 8 | vegan leather (7), quilted vegan leather (1) |
| Crossbody & Sling Bags | 9 | vegan leather (7), leather, as the maker states (1), quilted vegan leather (1) |
| Tote Bags | 3 | quilted vegan leather (1), leather, as the maker states (1), vegan leather (1) |
| Hobo & Shoulder Bags | 11 | vegan leather (9), suede (2) |
The clear bench is PVC by definition. The laptop totes split between canvas and vegan leather. Everything else is vegan leather with a few suede pieces on the shoulder bench.
The other words the guides police
The same guides have a second section for the promises makers like to print on a bag, and it is stricter than the leather rule. It covers the terms waterproof, dustproof, warpproof, scuffproof, scratchproof, scuff resistant and scratch resistant, and the first of them is the one that matters for a bag:
Use the term “Waterproof” to describe all or part of an industry product unless the designated product or material prevents water from contact with its contents under normal conditions of intended use during the anticipated life of the product or material.16 CFR 24.3(a), listed among the unfair or deceptive uses, read 4 September 2026
That is a high bar, and it is the reason a careful maker writes water-repellent or water-resistant instead. Those words are not in the guides, and they promise less: the surface sheds water for a while. A PU coating sheds rain. The zip, the seams and the fabric backing at a worn corner do not. On this site the claim is printed as the maker's words, under the label maker states, and the guide you are reading is the reason it is not printed as ours.
The scratch-resistant line in the same section asks for a basis and for a surface that is meaningfully resistant. PVC is not, and no Missnine page says it is.
How often the makers make each claim
Counted from the product pages. A claim is counted once per colourway whether it appears once or five times.
| Claim in the maker's text | Colourways | Share of the range |
|---|---|---|
| Water-resistant or water-repellent | 73 | 57% |
| RFID blocking | 4 | 3% |
Water-repellent appears on more than half the range, which is a reason to weigh it as a description of the coating and not of the bag. RFID blocking names a lined pocket for cards, in the maker's words.
Missnine crossbody bags in vegan leather
Vegan Leather Sling Bag, tassel, Grey
vegan leather · 8.2 × 3.7 × 12.9 in
4.5 out of 5 from 511 ratings
$6.99
One colourway
Convertible Vegan Leather Phone Crossbody, Stylish Beige
vegan leather
4.3 out of 5 from 401 ratings
$7.99
One colourway
Vegan Leather Crossbody Bag, Black
vegan leather · 11 × 1.1 × 7.8 in
4.5 out of 5 from 323 ratings
$9.99
One colourway
Vegan Leather Sling Bag, Green
vegan leather · 10.2 × 4.3 × 8.3 in
4.5 out of 5 from 323 ratings
$7.99
Available in 2 colours
What each material weighs, empty
The maker's empty weight in pounds, averaged by material across the bags that give one.
| Material | Bags with a weight | Average | Lightest | Heaviest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| canvas | 3 | 1.69 lb | 1.10 lb | 1.98 lb |
| leather, as the maker states | 2 | 1.32 lb | 1.32 lb | 1.32 lb |
| clear PVC | 15 | 0.69 lb | 0.44 lb | 0.99 lb |
| vegan leather | 16 | 1.22 lb | 0.44 lb | 2.62 lb |
| quilted vegan leather | 1 | 0.64 lb | 0.64 lb | 0.64 lb |
| suede | 1 | 1.10 lb | 1.10 lb | 1.10 lb |
Weight is the honest way to compare a vegan leather bag with a canvas one of the same size: the coating adds ounces, the canvas does not. Add the laptop yourself.
Caring for each one
- Vegan leather. Wipe with a damp cloth and mild soap, dry away from heat. Do not use leather conditioner. There is no hide to condition, and oil sits on the coating. Store stuffed, not folded, because a fold in PU becomes a crack.
- Clear PVC. Wipe inside and out, keep keys in an inside pocket, do not fold, and do not leave in a hot car. A cloudy panel is scratches, not dirt.
- Canvas. Spot clean with a soft brush and cool water, air dry flat. A full machine wash shrinks the canvas and does nothing for the vegan leather trim.
- Suede. A suede brush, a dry day, and nothing wet. A rain shower marks it. A protector spray from a shoe shop delays that and does not prevent it.
Missnine suede hobos, the real hide on the bench
Suede Hobo Bag, Espresso Brown
suede · 11.4 × 4.3 × 6.7 in
4.4 out of 5 from 32 ratings
$20.99
Available in 4 colours
Suede Hobo Bag II, Beige
suede · 14.2 × 3.9 × 9.8 in
4.2 out of 5 from 58 ratings
$15.99
One colourway
Missnine canvas laptop totes
Canvas Laptop Tote, 15.6 inch, Brown and Beige
canvas · 15.7 × 5.5 × 11.8 in · 15.6" laptop
4.5 out of 5 from 3,415 ratings
$10.85
Available in 2 colours
Canvas Laptop Tote, 15.6 inch II, Black and Beige
canvas · 16.1 × 5.1 × 11.8 in · 15.6" laptop
4.6 out of 5 from 1,066 ratings
$8.22
One colourway
Canvas Laptop Tote, 15.6 inch III, Classic Light Khaki
canvas · 16.1 × 5.5 × 12.2 in · 15.6" laptop
4.5 out of 5 from 3,415 ratings
$12.99
Available in 2 colours
Canvas Laptop Tote, 15.6 inch, with pouch, Black and
canvas · 16.1 × 5.5 × 12.2 in · 15.6" laptop
4.6 out of 5 from 1,066 ratings
$35.99
One colourway
How a coated fabric is made, and where it wears
Vegan leather starts as cloth. A woven or knitted backing, usually polyester, is coated with a layer of polyurethane, then embossed with a grain so that it reads as hide and finished with a top coat that sets the sheen. The thickness of that coating is the whole difference between a bag that looks new in three years and one that peels in one. Nobody prints the thickness, and the page cannot either.
Where it wears is predictable, though, and it is the same on every coated bag: the corners, the edge of the handle where the hand grips, the strap where it rubs the shoulder, and any fold. A structured tote that stands up on its own wears at the four bottom corners first. A slouchy hobo wears where it folds when it is put down. A bag left folded in a drawer wears at the fold before it has been carried anywhere.
The Missnine pages cannot promise a coating thickness. What they do is print the maker's material word and the maker's weight, and the weight is a clue: a heavier vegan leather bag of the same size usually carries a thicker coating or a denser backing. It is not proof, and the guide does not pretend it is.
Does the material set the price
The price of the representative colourway of each bag, averaged by material at the last update.
| Material | Bags | Average price | Lowest | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vegan leather | 26 | $17.79 | $6.99 | $31.99 |
| canvas | 4 | $17.01 | $8.22 | $35.99 |
| leather, as the maker states | 3 | $24.66 | $21.99 | $29.99 |
| clear PVC | 29 | $16.63 | $6.03 | $26.99 |
| quilted vegan leather | 3 | $12.23 | $7.71 | $18.99 |
| suede | 2 | $18.49 | $15.99 | $20.99 |
The averages sit closer than the materials would suggest. Size and construction move the price more than the material word does, and a large canvas laptop tote costs more than a small vegan leather crossbody whatever the label says.
A wardrobe of three materials
Most people who own a Missnine bag own three: a coated one for the week, a canvas one for the laptop, and a clear one for the season the stadium is open. That split is not a marketing idea. It follows from what each material does.
The coated bag is the one that wipes clean after a commute and takes rain without marking. The canvas tote is the one that carries weight without stretching and breathes against the body in summer, and it is also the one that soaks through, so it is the fair-weather laptop bag. The clear bag exists because of a rule, and it does one thing that no other material can do, which is pass a gate without a search.
Suede sits outside the three, and it is a fourth bag for people who want the real hide and will keep it dry. The pages on this site say suede where the maker does, and the hobo bench is where it lives.
Reading a bag page with the guides in mind
Three questions, in order. Is the word leather qualified, and by what? Is the qualifier one of the guides' words, or vegan and PU, which tell you it is plastic on fabric? And is any promise about water a promise of proof or of resistance? On a Missnine page the answers are in the specification: the material as the maker prints it, and the claims under their own label.
The guides are the reader's tool as much as the maker's. They are short, they are public, and the date we read them is at the bottom of this page.
Vegan Leather Shoulder Bag III, Brown
vegan leather · 9.1 × 3.4 × 8.3 in
4.1 out of 5 from 5 ratings
$9.99
One colourway
Vegan Leather Shoulder Bag II, Dark Brown
vegan leather · 9.1 × 3.4 × 8.3 in
4.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings
$19.99
One colourway
Vegan Leather Shoulder Bag IV, Blue
vegan leather · 9.1 × 3.4 × 8.3 in
5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings
$19.99
One colourway
Sources
- 16 CFR Part 24, Guides for Select Leather and Imitation Leather Products, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, read 4 September 2026