Materialkennzeichnung mit Symbolen für Schuhmaterialien auf zugeschnittenem Leder

Material identification - Materials used in shoes explained

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Material labeling explained

When buying shoes, the question often arises as to what materials a shoe is made of. Thanks to the mandatory material labeling, the composition of a shoe can be quickly identified. Uniform symbols provide information about which materials were used for the individual components.

According to European shoe labeling, the materials of the upper, lining and insole, and outsole are assigned to four categories: leather, coated leather, textile, and other material.

In detail, the symbols mean the following:

Upper

This refers to the outer material.

  

Lining and Insole

This describes the materials used on the inside of the shoe.

Outsole

The outsole refers to the tread or the contact material of the shoe with the floor. The specified material must make up 80% of the surface or volume. If a composition of different materials has been used (e.g. leather and rubber), the main components must be specified.

Leather

Leather refers to hides and skins whose natural fiber structure has been preserved unchanged. This does not include materials made from leather fibers and pieces. If color or foil layers are applied, they must not be thicker than 0.15 mm.

Coated Leather

Coated leathers are leathers with a color or foil application thicker than 0.15 mm, which, however, must not exceed 1/3 of the total material thickness. If the application is thicker than 1/3, these components are referred to as synthetic leather.

Textile

Textiles include all natural and synthetic textiles. The care label provides exact details of the components.

Other Material

Other materials include all processed materials that do not fall into the above groups. This can be, for example, rubber compositions or plastics for an outsole.




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