So as to reproduce the soft and enriched texture of natural leather, artificial leather has been treated traditionally with various agents. However, not any such material close to natural leather has been obtained yet. For example, a method for softening artificial leather to the same level as that of natural leather using a certain softening agent has been known traditionally. In other words, it has been carried out to bring about texture close to that of natural leather by adding silicone emulsion processing, wax processing and the like as softening agents. However, the softness and enriched texture of natural leather could not be sufficiently brought about successfully. Additionally, the present inventors proposed a method for giving an oily material and a supporting material thereof to the surface of a fibrous substrate having napped surface, as in accordance with this invention (see Patent Reference 1). However, the method intends to improve the touch (oil tone) of the napped surface. Therefore, the method fundamentally is a technique of attaching a composition including an oily material and a supporting material on the napped part of surface. By the method, accordingly, the overall softness and enriched texture of a fibrous substrate as in accordance with the invention cannot be obtained. By these methods of the related art, in other words, surface touch can be improved, but soft and enriched texture essential to natural leather cannot be reproduced.
Meanwhile, softening process of artificial leather using stuffing agents, for example fish oil and vegetable oil, for use in natural leather can produce a material with texture close to that of natural leather. However, bleed of fats and oils and oils to the surface thereof is distinctly observed. Thus, not any material with great softness and enriched texture close to that of natural leather without any bleed of oily materials such as fats and oils and oils has been obtained yet.
Patent Reference 1
    JP-A-2001-131880
It is an object of the invention to provide a sheet material including a fibrous substrate and having great softness and highly enriched texture of natural leather with extremely less bleed of oily materials, as well as a method for producing the same.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds