At RISE, INDA’s Research, Science and Innovation Conference, Freudenberg Performance Materials’ Simon Browne discussed his company’s recent efforts in the performance shoe market. The nonwovens manufacturer has developed a nonwoven/SAP material that can be used within the soles of shoes to keep them both breathable and waterproof.
 
Browne is the leader of Freudenberg’s shoe and leather goods business unit. The company’s development of this waterproof technology has allowed it to expand its business into snowboarding shoes and other high performance applications.
 
The laminate, which is marketed under the Airliner 1.0 brand name has already been used in several European sport shoe brands. The nonwovens/SAP combination allows the nonwoven to absorb moisture from the feet. The liner is attached to a hydrophobic  strobel-stitched insole and a hydrophobic cover. This creation sits above the rubber sole and below the insole of the shoe.
 
“We are making the nonwoven in our U.K. plant,” Brown explained to th