Global Footwear Sole Material Market is Segmented By Type (Chrome-Tanned Leather, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PU, TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), EVA Foam (ethylene vinyl acetate), Petroleum Rubber, Logged Wood, Others), By Component (Insole, Mid Sole, OutSole), By Application (Athletic, Non-Athletic), By End-User (Men, Women, Kids), and By Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) ā Share, Size, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2024-2031
Footwear Sole Material Market Overview
The report on global footwear sole material analyses the market size, shares, recent trends, competitive intelligence, and future market outlook. Footwear-exclusive material usage in shoes is on the rise. Demand from the footwear industry in āThe Asia Pacificā is booming. The competitive rivalry intensifies with Dow Chemical Company, Foshan Nanhai Yahang Shoes Co., Ltd, and others active in the market.
The sole of a shoe is the bottom part of the shoe that comes in direct contact with the ground. Shoe soles are manufactured from various materials, including natural rubber, leather, leather, polyurethane, and PVC compounds. The sole consists of mainly three components known insole, midsole, and outsole. The market has various types of soles available based on athletic and non-athletic applications. The demand for shoe sole materials is boosting globally with rising footwear production. Moreover, the companies have now shifted to bio-based materials to manufacture shoe soles with rising environmental concerns.
Footwear Sole Material Market Scope
|
Metrics |
Details |
|
Market CAGR |
5.9% |
|
Segments Covered |
By Type, By Component, By Application, By End-User, and By Region |
|
Report Insights Covered |
Competitive Landscape Analysis, Company Profile Analysis, Market Size, Share, Growth, Demand, Recent Developments, Mergers and acquisitions, New Product Launches, Growth Strategies, Revenue Analysis, and Other vital insights. |
|
Fastest Growing Region |
Asia Pacific |
|
Largest Market Share |
Asia Pacific |
To Get a Free Sample Click here
Source: DataM Intelligence Analysis (2023)
Footwear Sole Material Market Dynamics
The growing consumption of bio-based materials drives the global footwear sole material market growth
Growing consumption of bio-based materials
Shoe consumption grows continuously globally and brings environmental impacts during production and disposal. The production of shoe soles has significant environmental impacts due to materials such as leather, rubber, polyvinyl chloride, and polyurethane ending up in landfills. The vegan and vegetarian communities were among the first to support animal and environmentally-friendly footwear. Initially, eco-shoes tended to be unattractive, low-quality, and difficult to find. But the bio-based, biodegradable, and recycled footwear has been evolving globally. Global footwear consumption is forecasted to increase by over 5% per year and reach 40 million pairs in 2025.
Various leading footwear brand has launched their bio-based soles for footwear in the market. For instance, in 2021, KEEN Inc. debuted its proprietary manufacturing method that utilizes agricultural waste to generate plant-based soles without chemical solvents. Moreover, in 2021, Sports company PUMA created a new midsole made with sugarcane.
The company has introduced new footwear styles this spring, manufactured with recycled materials, as part of its strategy to make its complete product range more sustainable. Better Foam, used in footwear products starting this summer, contains 35% bio-based materials derived from sugar cane.
Adverse environmental impacts during the disposal of footwear soles
The environmental impacts of shoe degradation in landfills are inextricably related to the nature of the materials. The production of various petroleum-based products, such as EVA, used to produce athletic shoes results in severe environmental pollution of water bodies when disposed into landfills. When disposed of in landfills, the footwear can take up to thousands of years to degrade naturally. EVA athletic shoe midsoles can be kept in contact with moist soil for 12 years and experience little to no evidence of biodeterioration.
As the soles degrade, the chemicals used to process the rubber or plastic create pollution as they are discharged into the environment. If the sole materials are burned, then chemicals get into the air more quickly. Phthalates are one of the common chemicals released from materials. Other harmful substances include heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, mercury, and aromatic hydrocarbons.
COVID-19 Impact on Footwear Sole Material Market Growth
The market for sole footwear material was unstable during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, owing to low demand for athletic shoes and work-from-home scenarios. Moreover, various leading companies have had to shut their production plants, which has impacted the demand for sole materials. For instance, Nike announced that manufacturing in Vietnam had ground to a halt due to COVID-19 spreading through facilities and communities. The company could lose 160 million pairs of shoe production due to pandemic facility closures in Vietnam.
During the pandemic, the footwear industry has witnessed a contraction of around 20% in sales compared to the pandemic led-lockdown levels. However, the footwear companies could see sales touching pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2021 as consumer mobility and discretionary spending improve.
Footwear Sole Material Market Segment Analysis
By type, the footwear exclusive material market is segmented into chrome-tanned leather, PU, TPU, EVA foam, petroleum rubber, logged wood, and others.
Superior properties of the EU over other materials are boosting its demand in the footwear industry
Over the years, the industry has experimented with numerous materials to quest for the best sole material for shoes, sneakers, and sandals. While many of these materials exhibited exceptional results in specific criteria, polyurethane stood out for holistic performance. Since its advent, polyurethane has been gaining popularity in the footwear industry and has embarked on a journey to become the ideal sole material.
The leather is a difficult competitor for PU to match up to because of its texture, stylish aesthetics, and natural elasticity. However, leather soles could easily lose to polyurethane when it came to non-negotiable qualities like durability, water resistance, breathability, insulation, and many more. Moreover, the comparatively higher cost of leather has shifted towards PU soles. Moreover, PU sole is preferred over PVC sole due to excellent ventilation, texture, and grip on the ground.
Source: DataM Intelligence Analysis (2023)
Footwear Sole Material Market Geographical Share
Growing footwear manufacturing facilities are boosting sales in Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific accounts for 60% of the world's population and is on the verge of a retail boom fueled by fast-evolving lifestyles and behavioral changes toward shopping. With changing retail landscape and advancing styles, the footwear industry is set for phenomenal growth in the future, boosting the growth of the sole material market. Urbanization is also a significant contributor to influencing buying habits of consumers. Rising brand consciousness and increasing discretionary incomes have resulted in enormous footwear consumption growth.
For instance, India is the second-largest global footwear producer after China, accounting for 13% of global footwear production. India produces 2 million pairs of footwear categories, constituting an almost equal% of leather and non-leather footwear. India is the third-largest footwear-consuming country after China and U.S., with nearly 1.66 pairs per person. There are nearly 15000 units engaged in manufacturing footwear in India, with a turnover estimated at US$ 6,713 million (Rs. 50,000 crores).
Source: DataM Intelligence Analysis (2023)
Footwear Sole Material Market Companies and Competitive Landscape
The global footwear sole material market is fragmented and highly competitive with global companies, followed by a few local companies. The footwear companies are looking for efficient materials and technologies to upgrade their collections. Recently, Nike filed suit against Puma for purported patent infringement in a Massachusetts federal court. The accused Puma of multiple counts of patent infringement related to the unauthorized use of its Air, Flyknit, and cleat assembly technologies.
In addition, key players contributing to the market's growth are The Dow Chemical Company, Foshan Nanhai Yahang Shoes Co., Ltd, Huntsman, BASF SE, Braskem, Solvay, Airysole, Global Trading Co. LTD, Ningbo Carrion, J&H Shoe Sole, and others. The major players are adopting new strategies to dominate the market, such as expanding production, launching new technologies, and collaborations, and contributing to the global growth of the footwear sole material market.
Dow
Overview: Dow is a multinational corporation engaged in producing plastics, chemicals, and hydrocarbons. The company has segmented its product portfolio into 22 categories in automotive and transportation, construction, building and infrastructure, chemical manufacturing and industrial, beauty and personal care, consumer goods and appliances, and other industries. Dow operates 106 manufacturing sites in 31 countries, expanded in America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa regions.
Product Portfolio: The company offers materials specially designed for outsoles, midsoles, and unit soles.
Key Development: In 2021, Dow announced to carry out several capacity expansion projects for the materials to support the growing Consumer Solutions business.
The global footwear sole material market report would provide an approximate 69 market data table, 66 figures, and 180 pages
