Naugahyde

Naugahyde (sometimes abbreviated to Nauga) is an American brand of artificial leather ("pleather"). Naugahyde is a composite of a knit fabric backing and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic coating. It was developed by United States Rubber Company, and is now manufactured and sold by the Uniroyal Engineered Products division of Michelin. Its name, first used as a trademark in 1936,[1] comes from the Borough of Naugatuck, Connecticut, where it was first produced. Uniroyal asserts that Naugahyde is one of the most popular premium pleathers. Naugahyde is manufactured in Stoughton, Wisconsin.[2]

A marketing campaign of the 1960s and 1970s asserted humorously that Naugahyde was obtained from the skin of an animal called a "Nauga". The claim became an urban myth.[3] The campaign emphasized that, unlike other animals, which must typically be slaughtered to obtain their hides, Naugas can shed their skin without harm to themselves.[4] The Nauga doll, a squat, horned monster with a wide toothy grin, became popular in the 1960s and is still sold today.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Trademark Electronic Search System, United States Patent and Trademark Office.
  2. ^ "Naugahyde Corporate Information". http://www.naugahyde.com/corpinfo.html. Retrieved 2011-06-22. 
  3. ^ Mikkelson, Barbara (2007-02-18). "Naugahyde and Seek". Snopes.com. http://www.snopes.com/business/market/nauga.asp. Retrieved 2007-12-27. 
  4. ^ "A Nauga Story". Uniroyal. http://www.naugahyde.com/history.html. Retrieved 2007-12-27. 
  5. ^ Nauga dolls, Uniroyal website.

External links