When purchasing shoes, the material you choose is crucial in determining product cost, appearance, comfort, durability, and market positioning. Below, I’ll explain in detail how to choose a shoe material in a more descriptive manner.

I. Choosing the Upper Material

The upper is the “face” of the shoe, directly determining the first impression and wearing experience.

1. Genuine Leather
Genuine leather, especially top-grain cowhide, is the preferred material for high-end footwear. Its greatest advantages are its premium texture and excellent breathability. It develops a unique aging pattern with wear, ensuring it remains youthful and beautiful over time. However, it is expensive, susceptible to water and mildew, requires meticulous care, and is relatively heavy. It is primarily suitable for dress shoes, work boots, high-quality martin boots, and casual shoes.

2. Artificial Leather: PU Leather and Microfiber Leather

PU leather’s greatest advantages are its extremely low price, highly consistent color and texture, and ease of cleaning. However, its disadvantages are also significant: poor breathability, limited durability, prone to cracking and peeling, and a cheap appearance. It is commonly used in fast fashion and very low-cost footwear.

Microfiber leather: This is currently the most cost-effective option. Its texture is incredibly close to genuine leather, and its breathability and abrasion resistance are significantly better than PU leather, offering a well-balanced performance profile. While it still can’t fully replicate the breathability and aging properties of genuine leather, it is a perfect solution for most mid-range shoes. It is widely used in athletic shoes, casual shoes, and training shoes.

3. Textile Materials: Cloth, Mesh, and Knit
These materials share the characteristics of being lightweight, breathable, and cost-effective.

Ordinary fabric (such as canvas): Soft and comfortable, suitable for printing patterns, but not waterproof, easily soiled and difficult to wash, and lacks support. It is a representative material for canvas shoes and some casual shoes.

Mesh: Optimum breathability, very light, and low-cost. However, it is weak and easily damaged, making it commonly used in areas requiring high heat dissipation, such as running shoes.

Knit: Provides ultimate wrapping and comfort, and can be integrated into a unique design. However, it has poor adaptability to foot shapes, offers limited support and protection, and is prone to snagging. It’s commonly found in modern running shoes and trendy athletic shoes.

Purchasing Recommendations:

High-end: Top-grain genuine leather is preferred, with an emphasis on leather grade and sourcing.

Value for money and style: High-quality microfiber leather is preferred, with high market acceptance.

Sports Market: Mesh and knit are the mainstream, emphasizing functionality and lightweight.

Fast fashion: PU leather can be considered, but be transparent with consumers about the material to avoid disputes.

II. Choosing Sole Material

Sole materials are crucial for cushioning, anti-slip performance, wear resistance, and weight, and are core to functionality.

1. Rubber

The king of wear resistance and anti-slip properties, it offers high hardness and excellent support. Its disadvantages include its weight and average cushioning. It’s commonly used in the outsoles of outdoor and basketball shoes, as well as on the heels and toes of leather shoes and boots, which are prone to wear.

2. EVA and MD (Phylon)

EVA’s biggest advantages are its extreme lightness, excellent cushioning and rebound, and low cost, making it the most commonly used material for athletic shoe midsoles. However, its disadvantage is that it easily flattens after prolonged wear and loses its elasticity (i.e., cushioning attenuation).

MD (Phylon): This can be understood as high-performance EVA that has been foamed twice. It is more durable, has better rebound, and offers more balanced performance than EVA, though at a slightly higher cost. It is an ideal choice for mid- to high-end athletic shoe midsoles.

3. TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane)
Its core advantages are high hardness, excellent support, and stability. It’s typically not used for the entire sole, but rather as a torsion plate, heel counter, or outsole frame, providing critical protection and support. Its disadvantage is its relatively high weight.

4. Other Materials

PU soles: Durable and supportive, but very heavy, they are commonly used in work boots and dress shoes.

PVC soles: Extremely low cost, but hard, with poor slip resistance, and brittle at low temperatures. They are primarily used in the lowest-end market and are gradually being phased out.

Boost/Popcorn Technology (ETPU): Composed of countless tiny TPU balls, they provide unparalleled cushioning and energy return, resulting in a comfortable feel, but are costly.

Purchasing Recommendations:

Everyday use: An EVA/MD midsole with a rubber outsole is the most common and reliable combination.

Professional sportswear: Consider a structure with an embedded TPU stabilizer or specialized cushioning technologies like Boost.

Outdoor workwear: A high-performance rubber outsole (such as Vibram) is essential.

Formal leather shoes: Choose between PU soles or genuine leather outsoles (note that genuine leather outsoles are not slip-resistant).

III. Core Purchasing Decision Factors

When choosing a material, it’s important to consider the following:

Target market and price positioning: This is the primary factor. Are your customers professional users seeking ultimate performance, the quality-conscious middle class, or young people embracing trends? Price determines the upper limit of material costs.

Shoe Function and Design: Formal shoes prioritize texture, athletic shoes prioritize functionality, and outdoor shoes prioritize protection. Design style also determines the choice of materials. For example, retro running shoes often feature a combination of suede and mesh.

Seasonality and Regional Relevance: Spring and summer styles emphasize breathability and lightweight materials (mesh, woven fabrics); autumn and winter styles emphasize warmth and waterproofness (leather, thickened linings). Waterproofness is a key consideration in rainy regions.

Environmental Protection and Sustainability: Modern consumers are increasingly concerned about environmental protection. Consider recycled materials (such as polyester made from ocean plastic), vegan leather, or other natural and sustainable materials. This not only demonstrates social responsibility but can also become a selling point.

IV. Practical Advice

Always request physical samples: Pictures and specifications cannot replace the feeling of touching and bending a product in person. Samples allow you to intuitively assess the material’s texture, softness, and craftsmanship.

Perform Simple Testing: Perform a simple bend test on the sample to determine its folding resistance, a water drop test to determine its absorbency and breathability, and a friction test to determine its abrasion resistance.

Communicate thoroughly with suppliers: Be honest about your budget and goals. A good supplier will recommend the most suitable existing material solutions based on your needs, and may even collaborate on joint development.

Calculate overall costs: Consider not only the unit price of the material but also the material’s processing difficulty, production yield, and ongoing maintenance costs.