A rapid-entry shoe having a sole portion and a rebounding portion being comprised of the same material and being a unified structure. The rapid-entry shoe has a collapsed configuration in which a perimeter of the topline is expanded and an uncollapsed configuration in which the perimeter of the topline is unexpanded, and the rapid-entry shoe is biased by the rebounding portion toward the uncollapsed configuration.

A shoe cover is a natural latex article with reduced amount of sulfur cross linking agent and accelerators including zinc dithiocarbamate that break catalytically soluble sulfur S.sub.8 sulfur rings forming sulfur linear chains. Surfactants present in the pre-vulcanization composition wets natural polyisoprene particles and permeates small sized sulfur into the interior of these particles thereby pre-vulcanizing the particles. The latex emulsion also has post-vulcanization composition with accelerators that crosslink between particles during the post vulcanization cure cycle. The dipped natural polyisoprene article is substantially uniformly cured both in the inter-particle and intra-particle regions and reliably exhibits high cross link density, uniform distribution of double bonds and zinc segregation at the boundaries or original particles. The natural rubber films exhibit high tensile strength, tensile modulus, tear strength, elongation with low modulus of the shoe cover. The bottom surface of the shoe cover is etched to produce a slip resistant surface.

An object of the present invention is to provide a shoe having excellent comfort. The present invention provides a shoe including an upper material that is partially or fully formed of a fiber sheet, wherein the fiber sheet exhibits specific tensile characteristics at least in one direction.

Articles of wear having one or more textiles that include a low processing temperature polymeric composition and a high processing temperature polymeric composition, and methods of manufacturing the same are disclosed. The low processing temperature polymeric composition and the high processing temperature polymeric composition can be selectively incorporated into a textile to provide one or more structural properties and/or other advantageous properties to the article. The textile can be thermoformed to impart such structural and/or other advantageous properties to the article of wear. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

A variety of plates for footwear are provided including a polyolefin resin. Sole structures and articles of footwear formed therefrom are also provided. Methods of making the polyolefin resin compositions, plates, sole structures, and articles of footwear are also provided. In some aspects, the polyolefin resin composition includes an effective amount of a polymeric resin modifier. The effective amount can be an amount effective to allow the resin composition to pass a flex test, and in particular to pass a flex test without significant change in abrasion loss. In some aspects, the resin composition also includes a clarifying agent to improve optical clarity of the plate. In some aspects, the plates include a textile disposed on one or both of a first side and the second side of the plate. The textile can provide for improved bonding of the plate to other components such as a chassis or an upper.

An article of footwear includes a sole and an upper at least partially formed of a textile element. The textile element includes a yarn matrix having a plurality of interlocked strands oriented in predetermined directions. A structural element may be captured within the matrix at selected locations. In operation, the matrix is stitched onto a temporary substrate. The substrate is removed and the article coupled to a sole structure to form the article of footwear.

Footwear and footwear production process comprises steps that include the reuse of raw materials previously used in footwear or other sources. Such a process also provides for the reduction of waste and environmental impact as well as the elimination of water consumption. A footwear, also the object of the present invention, comprises renewable origin, natural, recycled and recyclable components, being a sustainable product, ecologically viable and inserted in the context of Circular Bio Economy. The footwear presents quality standards in accordance with standard technical standards of quality, overcoming challenges related to obtaining comfortable and simultaneously sustainable shoes.

A footwear customization kit comprises a container including an article of footwear, a stand, a steaming bag and a set of instructions. The article of footwear includes one or more customizable portions that can be deformed when heated, including an upper and a customizable insert. The stand and the steaming bag can be used to heat the article of footwear and the customizable portions in a steam environment. The customizable portions can be modified by a shape of a foot inserted into the article of footwear and can permanently retain the shape upon cooling.

An upper for an article of footwear, the upper including a base layer defining a least a portion of the upper and polymer threads stitched to the base layer. The polymer threads may include a core composed of a first material and a coating composed of a second material, where the melting point of the first material is higher than the melting point of the second material. The polymer threads may be bonded to the base layer by the coating of the polymer threads. The polymer threads may include one or more polymer thread sets stitched in pattern(s) on area(s) of an outer surface of the base layer to provide targeted characteristics to area(s) on the upper. In some embodiments, the polymer threads may be bonded to the base layer with heat and/or pressure.

A method of making an article of footwear with an upper including a ribbon structure is disclosed. The method includes laying down ribbon elements in straight and winding sections. The method includes stitching or otherwise attaching the ribbon elements to a backing layer. The method also includes embroidering a periphery of the ribbon structure to tack down any raised portions of the ribbon at the periphery. The method also includes inserting a lace through loops in the ribbon structure.