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Footwear’s history safe for the future

The Netherlands’ important shoemaking and leatherworking heritage will be preserved in a spectacularly revamped museum after a turnaround by Waalwijk’s officials. Following a turbulent few years and period of uncertainty, the Dutch Leather and Shoe Museum is set to reopen in June, with a new name and new concept. The Schoenenkwartier...
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16 June 2022
Out of this world - leather, world leather Out of this world
Adidas’ director of footwear innovation, Arnau Sanjuan, tells World Footwear how software program Gravity Sketch is changing his approach to shoe design.
10 June 2022
Shoes on song - leather, world leather Shoes on song
Technical staff and stage-crew stayed safe at Rome’s 2022 First of May Concert thanks to a successful shoe duet between Diadora and Vibram.
27 May 2022
Upcycling waste foam - leather, world leather Upcycling waste foam
The US footwear market is huge. It also creates a huge amount of waste, with an estimated 300 million pairs of shoes thrown into landfills annually.
03 May 2022
Eco-conscious fabrics - leather, world leather Eco-conscious fabrics
Nowadays, it is hard to believe that 40 years ago, shoe linings were very much of a secondary item with regard to shoe uppers.
26 April 2022
An economist’s message of hope - leather, world leather An economist’s message of hope
Some of Italy’s 4,000-plus footwear manufacturers are small and, at times, a little fragile, but Milan-based economist Enrica Baccini insists that the Italian shoe industry as a whole is “anti-fragile”.
21 April 2022
Spikes at the flick of a switch - leather, world leather Spikes at the flick of a switch
More than 70 years after its launch, Sievi of Finland remains devoted to helping workers stay safe in difficult conditions. One recent innovation is a patented system that lets wearers gain extra stability on...
19 April 2022
New life for old ski boots - leather, world leather New life for old ski boots
With funding from the European Commission’s LIFE programme, footwear group Tecnica has launched an ambitious ski boot recycling project that it believes could help it change its business model.
08 April 2022
Erem’s biocircular ambitions - leather, world leather Erem’s biocircular ambitions
The CEO of a new brand, and great-grandson of the Timberland founder, tells us how leather and sustainable materials are central to his desire to demonstrate a new way of working.
01 April 2022
Coping with the pandemic - leather, world leather Coping with the pandemic
The world had hoped that the pandemic would have been beaten before the summer of 2021. Gradually the realisation came that we were in a longer game and that we would have to live with it, certainly in the...
25 March 2022
Data-driven design - leather, world leather Data-driven design
Assa Ashuach is a most interesting man. Born in Israel in 1969, he studied for a BA in product design at the Betzalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. After graduating, he opened a design studio that...
18 March 2022
Enabling a more sustainable future - leather, world leather Enabling a more sustainable future
Paola Faoro, Huntsman
25 October 2021
Doctor’s orders - leather, world leather Doctor’s orders
Few storied footwear brands have kept pace with the times as well as the seemingly ever-present Dr Martens, which remains fashionably relevant following wave after wave of popular culture.
18 October 2021
Welting points - leather, world leather Welting points
Footwear brand Paraboot’s ongoing use of Goodyear-welting and Norwegian welting in its shoes and boots is part of its raison d’être.
16 October 2021
Accuracy and flexibility - leather, world leather Accuracy and flexibility
06 October 2021
Benefits of instability - leather, world leather Benefits of instability
Portuguese outsole developer Aloft has worked with technology and research partners in Spain to produce Sphair Air Bubble, an outsole that makes a virtue of unevenness.
04 October 2021
Circularity on track - leather, world leather Circularity on track
Two rival safety footwear suppliers in the Netherlands have teamed up to establish the Circular Footwear Alliance. They continue to compete in the marketplace, but are helping each other collect used safety...
13 September 2021
Alternatives to leather fall short - leather, world leather Alternatives to leather fall short
Many parts of the fashion industry, supported by the vegan lobby, continue to claim that non-leather alternatives are more desirable and sustainable than the real thing.
08 September 2021
Modern toe puff and counter technology - leather, world leather Modern toe puff and counter technology
Toe puffs and counters are often taken for granted. This is a mistake as they both perform important functions in the finished shoe. Toe puffs preserve toe shape and prevent that area of the shoe from...
01 September 2021
3D scanning and children’s footwear - leather, world leather 3D scanning and children’s footwear
Dr Carina Price, University of Salford & Dr Stewart Morrison, University of Brighton
25 August 2021
Slipping and falling - leather, world leather Slipping and falling
Dr Jean Luc Chaverot, Maryse Garceau, CTC
20 August 2021
3D printed lasts and insoles - leather, world leather 3D printed lasts and insoles
Some people are unfortunate enough to be either born with deformed feet or to acquire them through illness or injury and therefore need special footwear.
05 July 2021
The billionaire backing the Clarks deal - leather, world leather The billionaire backing the Clarks deal
LionRock’s interest in Clarks could result in major changes in the way the footwear group functions, not least because of the interest a major figure in brand-building and business expansion in China has taken ...
28 June 2021
Distance learning - leather, world leather Distance learning
Durability, an outsole to provide grip on a wide variety of terrain types, a split in the carbon plate and the insight and expertise of ultrarunner Tommy Rivs combine to make a new shoe from Craft a product of ...
21 June 2021
Prize winners - leather, world leather Prize winners
Safety footwear styles made an impression on the jury at the German Design Awards 2021.
14 June 2021
Total transparency - leather, world leather Total transparency
A footwear company from Denmark believes that using leather that consumers can trace back to the farms that reared the cattle that supplied the hides strengthens its brand and enhances its sustainability...
07 June 2021
Two in one - leather, world leather Two in one
When the subject of polyure­thane soling comes up, one may automatically think of DESMA. This is because the German manufacturer has been the major supplier of PU moulding machines for 50 years.
28 May 2021
Sustainable Susterra - leather, world leather Sustainable Susterra
Eco-efficiency has been proposed as a key tool in promoting a transformation from unsustainable develop­ment to one of sustainable development. It is based on the concept of creating more goods and services...
21 May 2021
Treating footwear against Covid - leather, world leather Treating footwear against Covid
The pandemic caused by covid-19 burst into our lives unexpectedly, affecting in a remarkable way the activity of different industries, including footwear and its components.
12 May 2021
Reimagining fabrics for footwear - leather, world leather Reimagining fabrics for footwear
Over the last decade there has been a steady rise in the growth of footwear with flexible woven or knitted uppers, particularly in the athletic and performance field.
05 February 2021
A perception shift - leather, world leather A perception shift
The more consumers know about hemp as a fabric, the more they want products made from the sustainable, durable plant. That's why hemp footwear brands are building education into their business models.
29 January 2021
Improvement step by step - leather, world leather Improvement step by step
Portuguese safety footwear group AMF has provided a breakdown of the work it does to conceive, plan, create and construct a new model. It says that looking at the processes step by step allows it to see all...
22 January 2021
From football to footwear: leather gets a second chance - leather, world leather From football to footwear: leather gets a second chance
A US company has coined a way of turning leather waste into a new material and sees shoes as its main target market. After collaborating for three years, Timberland is the first big brand to use it in a new...
15 January 2021
Best tech forward - leather, world leather Best tech forward
Hassle-free returns come at a cost but have never been more in vogue than in the current covid-19 era, for both footwear retailers and shoppers.
19 November 2020
CTC lauds lab programme - leather, world leather CTC lauds lab programme
Research body CTC is helping footwear brands and their material suppliers put in place a high level of assurance that in-house laboratories are testing and measuring accurately, boosting confidence all along...
12 November 2020
Materials search bears fruit for Camper - leather, world leather Materials search bears fruit for Camper
A desire for sustainable, high-performance materials for its footwear moved Camper to enter into discussions with the Lenzing Group and to add TENCEL to the list of natural fibres in its products.
05 November 2020
South America’s safety shoe breakthrough - leather, world leather South America’s safety shoe breakthrough
Work and safety footwear manufacturer Maincal has become the first South American company in the sector to incorporate BASF’s Infinergy expanded TPU material into the midsole of its products.
29 October 2020
Ethiopia’s story ‘has just begun’ - leather, world leather Ethiopia’s story ‘has just begun’
A Vivobarefoot and Pittards partnership has created jobs and opportunities in the African country. With brands looking at new sourcing destinations, Pittards CEO Reg Hankey tells us why collaborative supply...
22 October 2020
Carb Loading - leather, world leather Carb Loading
This year’s most publicised releases from major running shoe brands have one thing in common: carbon plates. Footwear designers who are not yet using the technology might want to take note.
15 October 2020
Index0.1 finds new home in ski boots - leather, world leather Index0.1 finds new home in ski boots
Salomon has a comprehensive strategy, including local recycling options, for its first ‘made to be recycled’ shoe.
19 August 2020
Airlines relax high-heel rules - leather, world leather Airlines relax high-heel rules
Two Japanese airlines recently changed their stances on flight attendants wearing high heels, in response to growing pressure from employees, podiatrists and a hashtag about shoe pain.
12 August 2020
Shoes that put the personal in PPE - leather, world leather Shoes that put the personal in PPE
For many years, the focus of safety footwear manufacturers has been on protecting workers from external physical danger. Developers also want to address less visible health concerns such as plantar fasciitis...
05 August 2020
Kirigami coating could make shoes safer - leather, world leather Kirigami coating could make shoes safer
MIT researchers have drawn on kirigami, a variation of origami that involves cutting paper as well as folding it, to create a friction-boosting material that could be used to coat the soles of shoes, giving...
29 July 2020
Too good to keep to yourself - leather, world leather Too good to keep to yourself
Large numbers of people discovered a love of running, hiking and other outdoor activities in precious moments of relief from the coronavirus lockdown.
22 July 2020
True north - leather, world leather True north
Swedish outdoor footwear brand Lundhags has always produced on home soil the long-lasting, high-shafted shell boots that helped make its name. More recently, it decided to give a fresh start to lower-cut,...

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