Hi. Thank you for the comments. I just want to assure you that there is no plastic in your cover. The leather we use on the inside is also cowhide but it is tanned differently. It’s called “pocket leather” in the industry and is most commonly used for just that, pockets and linings; in wallets, bags/briefcases, shoes and all types of accessories. We have our tanner apply a gloss finish to the pocket hides used on the insides of our items to prevent oils in the leather from interacting with paper fillers or electronic screens. We could use something more supple on the interior, and on certain things we do, but it would stretch or soften too much and within months, it would be useless, especially for the duplicate flap. We have used this leather for decades with no problems. We do not use "ground leather", leather product, vinyl or plastic or some other horrible product. I assure you it is leather. As to the smell, I suspect you were sensing the leather conditioner we use on the covers before we ship them. Perhaps we wrapped it up too quickly before the conditioner dissipated. I expect you will find that once it airs, you'll have that lovely leather smell.