Editing Shoe (section)

=== Industrial era ===

==== Asia and Europe ====
[[File:Shoemaker 1821.jpg|thumb|A [[shoemaker]] in the [[Georgian era]], from ''The Book of English Trades'', 1821.]]

[[Shoemaking]] became more commercialized in the mid-18th century, as it expanded as a [[cottage industry]]. Large [[warehouse]]s began to stock footwear, made by many small manufacturers from the area.

Until the 19th century, shoemaking was a traditional handicraft, but by the century's end, the process had been almost completely mechanized, with production occurring in large factories. Despite the obvious economic gains of [[mass production]], the factory system produced shoes without the individual differentiation that the traditional shoemaker was able to provide.

In the 19th century Chinese feminists called for an end to foot binding, and a ban in 1902 was implemented. The ban was soon repealed, but it was banned again in 1911 by the new Nationalist government. It was effective in coastal cities, but countryside cities continued without much regulation. Mao Zedong enforced the rule in 1949 and the practice is still forbidden. A number of women still have bound feet today.<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Woman's shoe, China, possibly Shanxi or Ningbo style, late 19th to early 20th century, satin, silk, cotton, gold thread, velvet - Redpath Museum - McGill University - Montreal, Canada - DSC08203.jpg|thumb|Woman's shoe, China, possibly Shanxi or Ningbo style, late 19th to early 20th century]]
The first steps towards mechanisation were taken during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] by the engineer, [[Marc Brunel]]. He developed machinery for the mass production of boots for the soldiers of the [[British Army]]. In 1812, he devised a scheme for making nailed-boot-making machinery that automatically fastened soles to uppers by means of metallic pins or nails.<ref name="Napol">{{cite web|url=http://staffscc.net/shoes1/?p=126|title=History of Shoemaking in Britain—Napoleonic Wars and the Industrial Revolution|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202130102/http://staffscc.net/shoes1/?p=126|archive-date=2014-02-02}}</ref> With the support of the [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|Duke of York]], the shoes were manufactured, and, due to their strength, cheapness, and durability, were introduced for the use of the army. In the same year, the use of screws and staples was patented by [[Richard Woodman (martyr)|Richard Woodman]]. Brunel's system was described by [[Sir Richard Phillips]] as a visitor to his factory in [[Battersea]] as follows:

[[File:Bottoming room.jpeg|thumb|left|By the late 19th century, the shoemaking industry had migrated to the factory and was increasingly mechanized. Pictured, the bottoming room of the B. F. Spinney & Co. factory in [[Lynn, Massachusetts]], 1872.]]

<blockquote>In another building I was shown his manufactory of shoes, which, like the other, is full of ingenuity, and, in regard to subdivision of labour, brings this fabric on a level with the oft-admired manufactory of pins. Every step in it is affected by the most elegant and precise machinery; while, as each operation is performed by one hand, so each shoe passes through twenty-five hands, who complete from the hide, as supplied by the currier, a hundred pairs of strong and well-finished shoes per day. All the details are performed by the ingenious application of the mechanic powers; and all the parts are characterised by precision, uniformity, and accuracy. As each man performs but one step in the process, which implies no knowledge of what is done by those who go before or follow him, so the persons employed are not shoemakers, but wounded soldiers, who are able to learn their respective duties in a few hours. The contract at which these shoes are delivered to Government is 6s. 6d. per pair, being at least 2s. less than what was paid previously for an unequal and cobbled article.<ref>Richard Phillips, ''Morning's Walk from London to Kew'', 1817.</ref></blockquote>

However, when the war ended in 1815, [[manual labour]] became much cheaper, and the demand for military equipment subsided. As a consequence, Brunel's system was no longer profitable and it soon ceased business.<ref name="Napol" />

==== Americas ====
Similar exigencies at the time of the [[Crimean War]] stimulated a renewed interest in methods of mechanization and mass-production, which proved longer lasting.<ref name="Napol" /> A shoemaker in [[Leicester]], Tomas Crick, patented the design for a riveting machine in 1853. His machine used an iron plate to push iron rivets into the sole. The process greatly increased the speed and efficiency of production. He also introduced the use of [[steam-power]]ed [[rolling-machine]]s for hardening leather and cutting-machines, in the mid-1850s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66568|title=FOOTWEAR MANUFACTURE|author=R. A. McKinley|year=1958|publisher=British History Online|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203092232/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66568|archive-date=2014-02-03}}</ref>

[[File:The Shoe for '96.jpg|thumb|Advertisement in an 1896 issue of ''[[McClure's]]'' for "The Regal".]]
[[File:Attila Elina Linkopuu (16556987222).jpg|thumb|left|Attila, a former shoe factory from the 1910s in [[Tampere]], [[Finland]]]]

The sewing machine was introduced in 1846, and provided an alternative method for the mechanization of shoemaking. By the late 1850s, the industry was beginning to shift towards the modern factory, mainly in the US and areas of England. A shoe-stitching machine was invented by the American Lyman Blake in 1856 and perfected by 1864. Entering into a partnership with McKay, his device became known as the McKay stitching machine and was quickly adopted by manufacturers throughout [[New England]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XKiGgl36bkgC|title=American Inventors, Entrepreneurs, and Business Visionaries|author=Charles W. Carey|year=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|page=27|isbn=9780816068838}}</ref> As bottlenecks opened up in the production line due to these innovations, more and more of the manufacturing stages, such as pegging and finishing, became automated. By the 1890s, the process of mechanisation was largely complete.

On January 24, 1899, Humphrey O'Sullivan of [[Lowell, Massachusetts]], was awarded a [[patent]] for a rubber heel for boots and shoes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=O'Sullivan |first1=Gary B |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CIDWbb-yOQ0C |title=The Oak and Serpent |publisher=Lulu |year=2007 |page=300 |isbn=978-0615155579 |access-date=2019-01-24 }}</ref>

==== Globalization ====
A process for manufacturing stitchless, that is, glued, shoes—[[AGO system|AGO]]—was developed in 1910. Since the mid-20th century, advances in rubber, plastics, synthetic cloth, and industrial adhesives have allowed manufacturers to create shoes that stray considerably from traditional crafting techniques. Leather, which had been the primary material in earlier styles, has remained standard in expensive dress shoes, but athletic shoes often have little or no real leather. Soles, which were once laboriously hand-stitched on, are now more often machine stitched or simply glued on. Many of these newer materials, such as rubber and plastics, have made shoes less biodegradable. It is estimated that most mass-produced shoes require 1000 years to degrade in a [[landfill]].<ref name="Clark_Brian">{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Brian|title=Biodegradable... Shoes??|url=http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/recycling-design-technology/biodegradable-shoes-461009|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=The Daily Green|date=October 24, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920190620/http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/recycling-design-technology/biodegradable-shoes-461009|archive-date=September 20, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In the late 2000s, some shoemakers picked up on the issue and began to produce shoes made entirely from [[Cradle to Cradle Design|degradable materials]], such as the Nike Considered.<ref name="nike_considered">{{cite news|title=What is Nike Considered?|url=http://help-us.nike.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/13764/~/what-is-nike-considered%3F|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=[[Nike, Inc.]]}}</ref><ref name="CSR">{{cite news|title=Ground-breaking Technology Brings World's First Biodegradable Midsole to Runners|url=http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/15082-Brooks-R-Sports-Unveils-BioMoGo-Biodegradable-Shoe|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=CSR Press Release|date=November 15, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728232020/http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/15082-Brooks-R-Sports-Unveils-BioMoGo-Biodegradable-Shoe|archive-date=July 28, 2012}}</ref>

In 2007, the global shoe industry had an overall market of [[United States Dollar|$]]107.4 billion, in terms of [[revenue]], and is expected to grow to $122.9 billion by the end of 2012.{{Needs update|date=February 2025}} Shoe manufacturers in the [[People's Republic of China]] account for 63% of production, 40.5% of global exports and 55% of industry revenue. However, many manufacturers in [[Europe]] dominate the higher-priced, higher value-added end of the market.<ref name="PRWeb_ibisworld">{{cite news|title=Global Footwear Manufacturing Industry Market Research Report|url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/6/prweb9580832.htm|access-date=July 24, 2012|newspaper=[[PRWeb]]|date=June 7, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313020222/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/6/prweb9580832.htm|archive-date=March 13, 2013}}</ref>