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Shoe industry as a
whole is progressing very fast. Our neighboring
countries are running so fast that we could not
compete with them. Our traditional shoe industry is
trying to change their pattern of working as per the
demand & fashion trend of the leather/footwear
world. Innocently we are just following western
advice and procuring high priced footwear
machineries and following the technology showing by
the European experts. Because we cannot think
ourselves with our own resources but we can follow
rather you can say copy the west. Technocrat’s
person’s advice is being ignored and administrative
bosses are running our country. It is true that the
IAS, PCS & concerned ministers are visiting off & on
to the foreign countries for the development of the
footwear industry but failed to raise our export
participation in the global market in shoe making
from 2%. In comparison China is exporting 60% of the
global supply of shoes. Since it is a peculiar
industry in nature only technocrats of this trade
can improve the present position of footwear
industries of India.
Our footwear
making is based on cottage and tiny industry.
Inheriting skilled worker is there to make a good
quality shoe. “Shoe Leather Sole” during 60’s and
early 70’s decade were the only shoes made in India
by hand by the skilled worker. In 2009 we have to
search a pair of leather sole shoe in the market.
Because we have tried to transfer our shoe industry
from hand made sector towards mechanization. The
mechanization of shoe industry snatched the
“livelihood” of lakhs of poor illiterate artisans.
Modernizations is
a must to accept the global challenge & I am not
opposing that but we could have done in a very
disciplined manner that keeps our old traditional
hand made shoe industry unharmed.And also at the
same time upgrading their present standard of shoe
making. For your kind information our conventional
hand made leather shoes are well accepted by the
developed world. Unfortunately instead of
encouraging & helping these traditional artisans our
policy maker’s wrong policy have more or less wiped
out the hand made leather shoe making from the
country. Now you can count in your finger tips the
few hand made shoe factories existed in India. In
Agra it will be not more than 10. Shoe with leather
sole (Good Year Welted shoe) is the most valued shoe
at present made in India. Kindly keep these skilled
poor artisans alive who are valuable for the
country.
Please see what is
going on in Europe. Due to the various health hazard
in modern shoe making with synthetic soles & the
available of cheap labour in Asian country, most of
the shoe factories in Europe & America are closing
down their factories there and chooses to buy the
same from the third world. But surprisingly hand
made shoe making is still continuing in Europe &
America. It is a general philosophy in India that
only poor people repair their old shoes but in
Europe hand made leather shoes is being produced and
repaired. If a man living in UK can repair his shoes
and reuse the same why not we the poor Indian can
use the repaired shoe. It requires to change the
mentality.
These hand made
shoe making and repairing work can save /create lots
of employment in our country. One factory is there
in Europe which are producing 4000 pairs of hand
made shoes every week. This factory was established
in 1873 & is still running successfully. They have 3
more manufacturing unit in the UK only and arrange
to sell their product through their own retail
outlet. Their first overseas retail out let was
opened in New York in1929.Subsequently they opened
showroom in Belgium in 1963 & in 1964 in Canada.
One of the
important facet of their business is the repair and
refurbishment section. Each year customers
throughout the world send their shoes to this
factory for repair and rebuilding. More than 18000
pairs of shoes have already been repaired by them.
It is interesting to learn that the factory accepts
shoes which may be up to 40 years old. They stripped
of their soles, heels, welts, stitching & cork
infill before being put to their original last on
which it was made and to be rebuilt with lengthy
process. Insole, heel lining, tassel & laces are
also replaced if necessary. After making all
alteration it is finished & boxed as new and
returned to the customer. They are repairing as much
as 300-500 pairs of shoe per week. One of the major
plus point in this shoe is that it is 100%
ecofriendly shoe. Vegetable tanned sole leather is
used as a soling material and no adhesive is being
used, sole is being attached by stitching and
leathers are made with AZO free dyes.
In India there is
a huge potentiality to grow these types of shoe
industries. Not only it will generate employment and
uplift the poverty level of poor artisan but also
earn a sizeable amount of foreign currency. When an
average pair of shoes made with TPR/PU sole is sold
between US $ 10 – 14. Where as a pair “Good Year
Welted” shoe will fetch a price of US $ 40 per pair.
Beside these there is a tremendous demand for ‘hand
made’ Indian shoe in the world. There are few
countries in the world who are expert in making hand
made shoes. Unfortunately till date we have not
ventured to develop that market. It is true that in
the large scale production and in a competitive
price we cannot compete with China but in hand made
shoe I firmly believe China will never be able to
compete with us.
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