The shoe industry demands an impressive array of adhesives due to variations in materials, processes, types of footwear, and seasonal design changes. Equally impressive is the performance demands placed on adhesives in this industry. These include a high degree of bond strength to resist numerous repetitions of bending, straightening, compressing, recovering, rubbing, and friction. The bond strength must also not be affected by rain, snow, wind, ultraviolet light, temperature changes, and whatever other elements to which the shoe will be exposed.
In addition to providing high performance properties and durability, the adhesives and bonding processes that are used in the footwear industry must also offer good early strength and workability for fast and efficient production. The adhesive bond must be invisible or at least aesthetically pleasing to the shoe's design. And more recently, an additional imposing set of requirements has been placed on the shoe manufacturers - formulations and processes must be environmentally friendly and hazard free.