Footwear industry

The footwear industry plays a major role in the world of women's fashion. The world's production of ladies' footwear is more than that of men's footwear. Different materials like leather, fur, rubber, plastic, fabric, suede etc. are used in manufacturing women's footwear.

Footwear workers create durable and stylish shoes, boots and sandals. The material is first checked in terms of strength, texture, and color. Innovative patterns are then traced onto the material from which the footwear is to be made. Then the patterns are cut along the outline and sewn together. This process may differ, depending on the nature of footwear.

Besides this process, shoemakers also attach heels and outsoles, affix shoe uppers, and apply insoles. The heels of shoes/boots are shaped with a knife, and sanded on a wheel for smoothness. Finally, the footwear is dyed and polished (in case of leather).

Machines used
Footwear workers mainly use hand tools and machines to create shoes, boots and slippers in various designs. The most common ones are listed below.

• Awls
• Hammers
• Knives
• Punching machines (to make holes)
• Sole stitchers
• Computerized machinery
• Sewing machines
• Sanding machines
• Skivers (for splitting leather)

Major contributors

China India Taiwan South Korea USA Germany Indonesia

Thailand Poland Saudi Arabia Switzerland Italy Portugal