{"id":4365,"date":"2026-09-29T09:35:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T09:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heleyadhesive.com\/?p=4365"},"modified":"2026-09-29T09:35:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T09:35:03","slug":"footwear-manufacturing-adhesives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heleyadhesive.com\/bn\/footwear-manufacturing-adhesives\/","title":{"rendered":"Footwear Manufacturing Adhesives: Types & How to Choose"},"content":{"rendered":"

Footwear manufacturing uses many materials and adhesive systems.<\/strong> A sports shoe may contain EVA, rubber, TPU, PU, fabric, leather, and synthetic leather.<\/p>\n

Because these materials are different, one adhesive cannot do every job well. A shoe factory may need several adhesive systems for one shoe.<\/p>\n

This guide explains the main adhesives used in footwear manufacturing<\/strong> and how factories, brands, and buyers can choose the right system.<\/p>\n

Because these materials are different, one adhesive cannot do every job well. A shoe factory may need several adhesive systems for one shoe.<\/p>\n

So, the better question is not:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the best shoe adhesive?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich adhesive system fits this material, this process, and this shoe?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

To keep the answer clear, this article groups footwear adhesives by how the bond is formed<\/strong>. This gives four main groups: solvent-based adhesives, water-based adhesives, non-reactive hot melts, and reactive adhesives.<\/p>\n

This method also avoids a common mistake. For example, \u201cPU adhesive\u201d is not one single group. PU can be solvent-based, water-based, or reactive.<\/p>\n

1. Solvent-Based Adhesives<\/h2>\n

Where Are They Used?<\/h3>\n

Solvent-based adhesives have been used in shoe factories for many years. Their process is well known, and many production lines are built around them.<\/p>\n

Common products include solvent-based PU adhesive, chloroprene adhesive, and some grafted adhesives.<\/p>\n

They can be used for sole bonding, upper work, lasting, folding, wrapping, and other shoe assembly jobs.<\/p>\n

Many of these adhesives give good early tack. They can also work with EVA, rubber, PU, leather, fabric, and other shoe materials when the right surface treatment is used.<\/p>\n

HELEY’s current footwear range includes PU adhesives, grafted adhesives, chloroprene adhesives, spray adhesives, and other supporting products for shoe production. Shoes and Leather Adhesive Solutions<\/a><\/p>\n

For factories that already use solvent-based systems, changing to another solvent-based product may also be easier than changing the full production process.<\/p>\n

But bond strength is not the only point to check. Buyers should also look at drying time, open time, heat resistance, VOC control, worker safety, and factory ventilation.<\/p>\n

2. Water-Based Adhesives<\/h2>\n

When Does a Water-Based System Make Sense?<\/h3>\n

Water-based adhesives use water as the main carrier instead of a large amount of organic solvent.<\/p>\n

Water-based PU is one of the main adhesive systems used in footwear manufacturing<\/p>\n

For brands and factories, the reason to study water-based adhesive is not only environmental. It may also help with VOC goals and factory working conditions.<\/p>\n

However, changing from a solvent-based system to a water-based system is not as simple as changing one drum of glue.<\/p>\n

The factory must first check the material.<\/p>\n

EVA, rubber, TPU, leather, and fabric may need different surface treatment. Some materials may also need a primer before the main adhesive is applied.<\/p>\n

The factory must then check drying conditions. Water must leave the adhesive film before the next process can work well.<\/p>\n

Production speed is also important. If the current drying system cannot remove water fast enough, the line may slow down.<\/p>\n

This is why a buyer should not only ask:<\/p>\n

\u201cIs water-based adhesive better?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

A more useful question is:<\/p>\n

\u201cCan this water-based adhesive run well with our materials, equipment, and line speed?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Environmental rules can also affect adhesive choice. The European Commission’s current EU Ecolabel criteria for footwear include requirements linked to VOC use, hazardous substances, and product durability. Green Forum<\/a><\/p>\n

For official information, see the European Commission’s EU Ecolabel criteria for footwear<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Non-Reactive Hot-Melt Adhesives<\/h2>\n

Where Can Hot Melt Help a Shoe Factory?<\/h3>\n

A standard hot-melt adhesive becomes liquid when heated. It forms the bond as it cools.<\/p>\n

This means the factory does not need to wait for large amounts of water or solvent to leave the glue.<\/p>\n

For this reason, hot melts can be useful for fast assembly and some automated processes.<\/p>\n

They may be used for lamination, positioning, upper assembly, and other production steps where fast setting is useful.<\/p>\n

But standard hot melt is not the answer for every shoe part.<\/p>\n

A shoe sole may face heat, water, bending, impact, and long use. A normal thermoplastic hot melt may not have the right performance for every outsole or midsole bond.<\/p>\n

Factories should test the real shoe structure before using it in mass production.<\/p>\n

4. Reactive Adhesives<\/h2>\n

What Is Different About Reactive PUR?<\/h3>\n

Reactive adhesives form a stronger final network through a chemical reaction.<\/p>\n

One important example in footwear is reactive PUR hot melt.<\/p>\n

It is applied while hot, but cooling is not the end of the process. The adhesive continues to react after bonding.<\/p>\n

This can give better long-term performance than a standard non-reactive hot melt in some uses.<\/p>\n

Reactive PUR may be useful for high-performance shoes, multi-material shoe structures, and automated production.<\/p>\n

But it also needs tighter process control.<\/p>\n

The factory may need to control equipment temperature, storage, moisture exposure, application time, and cleaning procedures.<\/p>\n

This means the buying decision should not be based only on adhesive price.<\/p>\n

A purchasing team should also ask:<\/p>\n

For some footwear manufacturing projects, reactive PUR can help balance production speed and long-term bond performance.<\/p>\n

Can our current equipment use it? Can the process stay stable? Can our workers control it? Can the supplier help during the factory trial?<\/strong><\/p>\n

These questions are very important when a new adhesive system will be used for large orders.<\/p>\n

5. Why Are Primer, Cleaner, and Hardener Important?<\/h2>\n

The Main Adhesive Is Only One Part of the System<\/h3>\n

Many bonding problems are blamed on the main adhesive. But sometimes the adhesive is not the real cause.<\/p>\n

A shoe material may have dust, oil, mold-release agent, or another material on its surface. Some surfaces are also hard for adhesive to wet.<\/p>\n

Surface preparation is a key part of footwear manufacturing, especially when bonding EVA, rubber, TPU, and other difficult materials.<\/p>\n

This is why a complete bonding system may include:<\/p>\n

Cleaning \u2192 Surface treatment \u2192 Primer \u2192 Adhesive \u2192 Hardener or activation<\/strong><\/p>\n

A cleaner helps prepare the surface.<\/p>\n

A primer helps the adhesive work with a difficult material.<\/p>\n

A hardener can improve the final properties of some adhesive systems when it is used at the correct ratio.<\/p>\n

Different shoe materials may also need different primers.<\/p>\n

\"Footwear<\/a><\/p>\n

HELEY’s footwear range includes cleaners, hardeners, EVA primer, rubber primer, TPR primer, PU\/PVC primer, leather primer, and nylon primer, together with several main adhesive families. Shoes and Leather Adhesive Solutions<\/a><\/p>\n

You can see the full range on the HELEY Adhesive Solutions page.<\/p>\n

For a shoe factory, this is useful because the bonding problem can be studied as one system instead of only changing the main glue.<\/p>\n

6. How to Choose Adhesives for Footwear Manufacturing<\/h2>\n

Start With Four Separate Questions<\/h3>\n

The best way to choose an adhesive is to look at four areas: material, process, performance, and business needs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

These four areas answer different questions, so they do not overlap.<\/p>\n

Material: What Are You Bonding?<\/h3>\n

In footwear manufacturing, adhesive selection should start with the material pair.<\/p>\n

Start with the two materials that touch each other.<\/p>\n

For example, EVA to rubber is one bonding job. TPU to EVA is another. PU to leather is another.<\/p>\n

Even two EVA materials may not bond in the same way. Their foam structure, formula, density, and surface can be different.<\/p>\n

So, instead of asking:<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you have an EVA adhesive?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is better to say:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to bond this EVA midsole to this rubber outsole.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This gives the adhesive supplier much better information.<\/p>\n

Process: How Does Your Factory Work?<\/h3>\n

The next question is about production.<\/p>\n

Does the factory use hand brushing, spraying, or automatic coating? Does the line have a drying oven? Does it use heat activation? How fast does the line move?<\/p>\n

These points affect adhesive choice.<\/p>\n

A product that works well in a slow lab test may not work well on a fast shoe line.<\/p>\n

The goal is to find an adhesive with a safe working window, not just one perfect lab condition.<\/p>\n

Performance: What Will the Shoe Face?<\/h3>\n

The next step is to look at real use.<\/p>\n

A running shoe bends many times. A work shoe may face more heat and heavy force. A shoe sold in a hot and wet market may need stronger heat and hydrolysis resistance.<\/p>\n

This means initial peel strength is not enough.<\/p>\n

The factory may also need to test the bond after heat, humidity, water, flexing, or aging.<\/p>\n

ISO 17708:2018 is an official footwear test method for checking the resistance to separation between the upper and outsole, or between outsole layers. It also includes aging conditions that can be used for production control. ISO<\/a><\/p>\n

For the official standard, see ISO 17708:2018 \u2014 Footwear Upper-Sole Adhesion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Business Needs: Can the System Work in Mass Production?<\/h3>\n

In footwear manufacturing, stable adhesive quality is important for large-volume production.<\/p>\n

The last question is not only technical.<\/p>\n

A shoe factory may make tens of thousands of pairs from one order. The adhesive must stay stable from batch to batch.<\/p>\n

Buyers should also look at supply capacity, technical documents, total cost per pair, change control, factory support, and problem-solving speed.<\/p>\n

A cheaper price per kilogram does not always mean a lower production cost.<\/p>\n

If an adhesive causes more waste, slower drying, more rework, or more delamination, the real cost may be higher.<\/p>\n

7. What Information Should Buyers Give an Adhesive Supplier?<\/h2>\n

Better Information Leads to Better Adhesive Selection<\/h3>\n

A common inquiry is:<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease recommend your best shoe adhesive.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This does not give enough information for a good answer.<\/p>\n

A better inquiry explains the two materials, the shoe part, the current process, and the main performance goal.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

Material:<\/strong> EVA + rubber.
\nShoe type:<\/strong> Running shoe.
\nBonding area:<\/strong> Midsole to outsole.
\nCurrent process:<\/strong> Primer + PU adhesive + heat activation.
\nMain problem:<\/strong> Delamination after aging.
\nTarget:<\/strong> Better heat and hydrolysis resistance.<\/p>\n

With this information, the supplier can study the full bonding system.<\/p>\n

The answer may involve a different primer, another adhesive, a hardener, a change in activation temperature, or a change in drying and pressing conditions.<\/p>\n

This is also a more practical way for HELEY to work with a footwear project. The starting point should be the real material pair and factory process, not a fixed idea that one product can bond every shoe.<\/p>\n

There Is No One Adhesive for Every Shoe<\/h2>\n

Footwear manufacturing uses different adhesive systems for different materials, processes, and performance needs.<\/p>\n

When grouped by how the bond forms, they are solvent-based adhesives, water-based adhesives, non-reactive hot melts, and reactive adhesives<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

But the adhesive type is only the first decision.<\/p>\n

A reliable footwear bonding system should follow a simple path:<\/p>\n

Material \u2192 Process \u2192 Performance \u2192 Business needs<\/strong><\/p>\n

After that, the factory can decide on the cleaner, surface treatment, primer, main adhesive, hardener, and process settings.<\/p>\n

For shoe factories, this can help reduce rework and delamination. For brands, it can help improve quality between different factories and shoe models.<\/p>\n

For purchasing teams, it also gives a better way to compare suppliers.<\/p>\n

Instead of only asking about price per kilogram<\/strong>, buyers can compare cost per pair, production stability, material support, product consistency, and technical service<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That is the key point: successful footwear manufacturing needs more than a strong glue. It needs a bonding system that can work again and again in real production.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Footwear manufacturing uses many materials and adhesive systems. A sports shoe may contain EVA, rubber, TPU, PU, fabric, leather, and synthetic leather. Because these materials are different, one adhesive cannot do every job well. A shoe factory may need several adhesive systems for one shoe. This guide explains the main adhesives used in footwear manufacturing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4367,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[115,94,101,116,83,109,106,84],"class_list":["post-4365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs","tag-adhesive-selection","tag-footwear-adhesives","tag-footwear-manufacturing","tag-pu-adhesive","tag-shoe-adhesive","tag-shoe-bonding","tag-shoe-manufacturing","tag-water-based-adhesive"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/heleyadhesive.com\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/heleyadhesive.com\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/heleyadhesive.com\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heleyadhesive.com\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heleyadhesive.com\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4365"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/heleyadhesive.com\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4368,"href":"https:\/\/heleyadhesive.com\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4365\/revisions\/4368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heleyadhesive.com\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/heleyadhesive.com\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heleyadhesive.com\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heleyadhesive.com\/bn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}