Naugahyde is an Americanbrand ofartificial leather. Naugahyde is a composite knit fabric backing and expandedpolyvinyl chloride (PVC) coating. It was developed by Byron A. Hunter, a senior chemist at theUnited States Rubber Company, and is now manufactured and sold by thecorporate spin-off Uniroyal Engineered Products LLC.
Its name, first used as a trademark in 1936,[1][full citation needed] comes from the name ofNaugatuck, Connecticut, where it was first produced.[2] It is now manufactured inStoughton, Wisconsin.[3]
The primary use for Naugahyde is as a substitute for leather inupholstery. In this application it is very durable and can be easily maintained by wiping with a damp sponge or cloth. Being a synthetic product, it is supplied in long rolls, allowing large sections of furniture to be covered seamlessly, unlikeanimal hides.
General Motors for several decades used the material in several of its vehicles, with the term "Cordaveen" and later "Madrid-grain vinyl" forBuick, "Morocceen" forOldsmobile, and "Morrokide" forPontiac vehicles, whileChevrolet did not use a brand name and simply listed it in sales brochures as "vinyl interior".
A marketing campaign of the 1960s and 1970s asserted facetiously that Naugahyde was obtained from the skin of an animal called a "Nauga". The claim became anurban myth.[4] The campaign emphasized that, unlike other animals, which must typically be slaughtered to obtain their hides, Naugas canshed their skin without harm to themselves.[5] The Nauga doll, a squat, horned monster with a wide, toothy grin, became popular in the 1960s and is still sold today.[6]