Plastic shoes have been around for years, and 35 companies now turn them out. But plastic has mostly been used for cheap shoes because it does not breathe like leather and usually makes feet hot and uncomfortable. Now a plastic-like material has been developed that looks, feels and breathes like leather, and is said to wear better and cost less to make. For the $700 million leather industry, which devotes 85% of its business to producing leather for shoe uppers, a challenge is at hand as great as the one that faced the textile industry a dozen years ago....
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
