Are the uppers made of leather?
I’d like to know if the uppers are made of leather, too. I’ve looked everywhere online, and I can’t find an answer. If I look closely at the pic, it looks like leather, but it could also be a really good pleather, which is great for car interiors and such, but not great for shoes because pleather, even really good pleather, doesn’t breathe and you will get very sweaty feet and soon end up with some very smelly shoes.
I’m guessing they are leather. Sperry makes sneakers in bonded leather and leather. Bonded leather, which is bits of reclaimed leather from tanneries that are then glued together (kind of like particle board is to wood), doesn’t breathe and generally only lasts a few months before it starts pealing or flaking. It’s fast-fashion. HOWEVER, given that all of the Striper II model of shoe (though not this particular one, which I could find no info on) I found WERE made of full-leather uppers, not bonded leather, and given that the add states in writing, “sneakers that will last the next decade (and then some),” something that could never be said of bonded leather, I’m leaning towards them being genuine leather, especially given their original price-point being at what Sperry charges for its genuine leather shoes, not the lower price point of its bonded leather shoes, for which its marketing spin is under the auspices of “recycling.” Still, that’s no guarantee. We’ll just have to check when they come, because what the uppers are made of, by law, must be clearly stated on a label on the inside of the tongue, so if they’re not genuine leather, I’ll be returning them.
