The footwear industry is constantly evolving and innovating to meet the diverse needs and preferences of consumers. One of the key aspects of footwear design and performance is the material used for the shoe uppers, which covers the top and sides of the foot. Traditionally, most of the shoe uppers in India are made from regular polyester yarns, which are cheap, durable, and easy to process. However, regular polyester yarns have some limitations with respect to specific applications such as low breathability, poor moisture management, and high environmental impact. To overcome these challenges, there is a growing demand for functional yarns for manufacturing shoe uppers in India. Functional yarns are yarns that have been modified or enhanced to provide specific properties or functions, such as thermal regulation, antibacterial, odor control, water repellency, UV protection, etc. Functional yarns can be made from natural, synthetic, or blended fibers, and can be processed using various techniques, such as coating, spinning, weaving, knitting, etc.

Functional yarns offer several benefits for the footwear industry and consumers, such as:

Improved comfort and fit: Functional yarns can create shoe uppers that are more breathable, lightweight, flexible, and adaptive to the foot shape and movement, resulting in improved comfort and fit for the wearer.

Enhanced performance and durability: Functional yarns can improve the mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties of shoe uppers, such as abrasion resistance, tensile strength, elasticity, thermal insulation, moisture wicking, etc., enhancing the performance and durability of the footwear.

Reduced environmental impact: Functional yarns can reduce the environmental impact of shoe production and consumption, by using renewable, biodegradable, or recycled fibers, reducing the use of harmful chemicals, dyes, or finishes, and extending the lifespan of the footwear.

Functional yarns have the potential to bring significant changes in the consumption pattern of the Indian sports shoe market, by creating new opportunities for product differentiation, customization, and innovation, as well as increasing consumer awareness, preference, and demand for sustainable and high-quality footwear. Therefore, functional yarns are an important and promising trend for the future of the footwear industry in India.

There is bound to be a huge demand of functional outputs from a Sports Shoe enhancing the comfort and performance. In a young Nation like ours where the customer choices and demands are getting sharper by every passing day, sports shoes as a category has been stagnant as far as offering new solutions are concerned. Functional outputs could be the game changer in the entire paradigm.

Reliance Industries Limited is giving innovative and functional yarns under R|ElanTM Brand for the footwear Industry.

fabric to deliver a round-the-year performance keeping you cool and dry in summer and warm in winter. Now, stay comfortable, no matter what season it is.

COMFORT CUSTOMIZED FOR ALL CLIMATES.

Usually, fabric is made such that it is most likely to be worn in a specific season. Now, you can enjoy wearing shoes that have been specially created to keep you comfortable in all seasons. R|Elan™ AllClima fabric has been specially engineered with inherent dual functionality to enable all year comfort. The fabric has a unique profile made from a combination of multi-channel and hollow fibres. This enables the fabric to deliver a round-the-year performance keeping you cool and dry in summer and warm in winter. Now, stay comfortable, no matter what season it is.

IT’S TIME TO GET FRESH Staying fresh while you are on the go is a tough act. It needs you to be composed and fresh always, with appropriate support from your apparel. R|Elan™ FeelFresh is embedded with silver technology that keeps the fabric inherently anti-microbial and inhibits bacterial growth reducing bad odour. Thus, allowing the wearer to stay healthy and fresh all day long.