Brazilian Sustainability Outlook in Footwear Sector

Abstract

The footwear production in the world exceeded more than 21 billion/pairs in 2017. The largest producer (11.4 billion/year) and exporter (8 billion/year) is China, manufacturing a wide variety of models and being USA its main purchaser. Brazilian footwear production was 950 million/pairs in 2019, corresponding the fourth largest production in the world. While Brazilian footwear is mainly focused on national market (around 87% of the production), the first three largest manufacture countries (China, Vietnam and Indonesia) aim at exporting their products to European and North American brands. This study aimed to verify the panorama and the sustainable solutions being carried out by Brazilian footwear sector. The methodology was based in literature research and informations provided by Brazilian companies. Brazilian footwear industry is finding solutions to reduce production costs in order to diversify shoe models and compete in the international market. One of the strategies is the gradual replacement of leather by fabrics, synthetic polymers and rubbers. In 2017, the correspondent amounts were: 49.0% plastic/rubber; 28.8% synthetic laminate; 17.7% leather and fabrics—only 4.5%. Another important issue to reduce cost and distance is the cluster agglomeration, whose there are 13 clusters in 6 Brazilian states. The employment of natural fibers in footwear corresponds to a small part in comparison of synthetic fibers. Cellulosic fibers are being researched as biodegradable materials, showing innovations for instance, the use of leather waste, coconut fiber and latex, multilayers fabrics and finishing process adding bactericide properties to cotton. Particularly, the employment of cotton, raffia and jute fabrics outstands in footwear summer collections. However, more consistent initiatives related to the research of alternative materials, waste reduction, reuse and recycling are being carried out. New standards in waste disposal have forced major changes in production processes, and national seals also have been supporting these initiatives to manage processes in shoe, components factories and tanning. There are alternatives to chromium in tanning employing vegetable tannin. In addition, the design conception assists the durability increasing and post-consumption recycling easiness of its components, for instance reducing the number of components through digital fabrication. Thus, the increasing of researches about recycling footwear components and the development of biodegradable materials and processes points a sustainability trend in this sector.