I thought Naugahyde became pleather.
Well..
Naugahyde® IS a pleather, first produced by US Rubber in, where else, Naugatuck, CT and trademarked in 1936..
But, as you should be aware from exposure to the US Media Method of Reporting, telling the truth about something ruins the narrative and the fundraising for the Save the Nauga Foundation would dry up..
And besides, those poor Naugas are almost extinct..
Fortunately the industry in a rare show of conservation consciousness has found a suitable alternate source. Due to the depressed supply of real Nauga hydes, Naugahyde® and all other pleathers are now made from the exoskelleton of the Vinyl, a creature that has a tremendous reproductive rate (which is why it is often referred to as 'polyvinyl') and is in no danger of becoming extinct anytime soon. An interesting aside - for the exoskeleton of the Vinyl to be useful it must be treated with bleach (you know, chlorine) and thus the resultant material has come to be known as Polyvinyl Chloride...
To be closer to the source of free-range Vinyls (and to placate the animal rights wacos who picketed them unmercifully while in Naugatuck), UniRoyal, the present manufacturer, has moved the production of Naugahyde® from Naugatuck, CT to Stoughton, WI..
Betcha they NEVER taught you this in school... ;-)