Footwear sourcing from India and Sri Lanka
The Footwear document covers the whole category rather than the safety corner: sneakers and casual, leather formal and dress, boots, and sandals and open footwear. Four constructions are placed to a matched floor, the last is confirmed before bulk every time, and compliance is evidenced for the unit making your shoe.
not the safety corner
Sneakers and casual: cup sole and vulcanised construction, canvas and leather uppers, court silhouettes through chunky lifestyle, the category the domestic brands were built on. Leather formal and dress: Oxford, derby, loafer and monk. Boots: chukka, hiker and work boot, where the construction has to be repairable. Sandals, slides and open footwear: moulded and assembled, the volume end of the range.
the construction decides the factory
Cup sole and vulcanised, for canvas and leather uppers. Cemented, injected and direct-injected, which are the volume constructions and the ones that carry a safety certification. Stitchdown and Goodyear welt, where the construction has to be repairable. Hand-lasted, where the finish is the product.
the origins
India: Agra and the Tamil Nadu belt have made leather formal and dress for export for decades, Ranipet is a working cluster rather than a single floor, and Chennai is ZER0's own sourcing presence, placing the programme and following it on the ground rather than over email.
Sri Lanka: Desma direct injection bonds the sole to the upper without adhesive, which is what makes a safety boot survive the floor it is worn on. The same partner runs seam sealed garments and functional outdoor, so the footwear sits beside the workwear rather than in a separate supply chain.
proved on foot, not on a spec sheet
Footwear carries more construction risk than apparel, and no specification settles fit, so the last is confirmed before bulk every time. The document is blunt about the compliance trap: a certification held by a garment unit does not travel to a shoe unit, and ZER0 evidences the floor that is making your shoe.
The discipline is the same four steps as apparel. Specification before quotation, because a price against a vague shoe is a price that moves later. Fit proved on foot, sampled and wear-tested. Compliance on the footwear floor. One standard of care, whichever floor it lands on.
questions this document answers
- Does a factory's garment certification cover its shoe production?
- No. The document states that a certification held by a garment unit does not travel to a shoe unit, and that ZER0 evidences the floor making your shoe rather than carrying a mark across.
- What footwear constructions can ZER0 place?
- Four: cup sole and vulcanised, cemented and injected and direct-injected, stitchdown and Goodyear welt, and hand-lasted, each placed to a floor matched to that construction.
key facts
| Document | 12 pages, PDF |
|---|---|
| Categories | Sneakers and casual · Leather formal and dress · Boots · Sandals and open footwear |
| Constructions | Cup sole and vulcanised · Cemented and injected · Stitchdown and Goodyear welt · Hand-lasted |
| Origins | India (Agra, the Tamil Nadu belt, Ranipet, Chennai) and Sri Lanka |
| Fit | The last is confirmed before bulk, sampled and wear-tested |
| Compliance | Evidenced on the footwear floor, never carried across from a garment unit |
| Where to start | One style, one colourway, one season, then widen |
the document
Footwear, 12 pages, PDF. Everything on this page is read out of it.
start with one programme
Tell us what you want to carry and the calendar you have to hit. We come back with a programme, not a pitch.