Selecting suitable materials for your shoe designs is very important.

Your material choices determine the look, quality, price, duty rate, and durability of your footwear project.

Honestly, I have made many material selection mistakes that cost me time and money. It’s common in footwear development to start a project with one material in mind only to find out it’s not going to work as you intended. You will have to spend time contacting new shoe material suppliers and testing new products until you find the right one.

Your shoe material selections impact the cost and import classification of your shoe. Therefore, as a shoe designer, footwear developer, or brand manager, you need to understand how to make material substitutions that don’t compromise the shoe design and improve your profit margins.