SIC 3021 Rubber and Plastics Footwear

SIC 3021

This category covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing fabric-upper footwear having rubber or plastic soles vulcanized, injection molded, or cemented to the uppers, as well as rubber and plastics protective footwear. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing rubber, composition, and fiber heels, soles, soling strips, and related shoe making and repairing materials are classified in SIC 3069: Fabricated Rubber Products, Not Elsewhere Classified; those manufacturing plastic soles and soling strips are classified in SIC 3089: Plastics Products, Not Elsewhere Classified; and those manufacturing other footwear of rubber or plastics are classified in SIC 3140: Footwear, Except Rubber.

NAICS CODE(S)

316211

Rubber and Plastics Footwear Manufacturing

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

The value of shipments in the rubber and plastics footwear industry in the United States dove from $1.1 billion in 1998 to $478.9 million in 2002. From there it rose marginally to $504.8 million in 2005. The market reeled from a decline in consumer spending on athletic footwear but tried to capitalize on the shift in demand toward outdoor footwear, including rugged shoes for hiking and winter-sports footwear. The other shift in consumer tastes—toward casual street fashion—was not of particular help to this industry as leather products tend to dominate that category of footwear.

The United States is the world's largest importer of footwear, accounting for one-quarter of the world's imports. In 2003, the United States imported $2.8 billion worth of rubber- and plastic-soled shoes. Asian and Middle Eastern manufacturers are responsible for about 70 percent of worldwide production. The major manufacturing countries include China, India, and Indonesia, where many U.S. companies also produce a large portion of their own shoes to take advantage of lower labor and materials costs. This fact has, since the 1990s, generated controversy for the footwear industry as a whole as news of harsh labor practices in U.S. manufacturing facilities unleashed a backlash against the use of sweatshop labor in particular, and exploitative labor practices in general, and spurred calls for regulations establishing worldwide labor standards, including minimum wage and safety provisions.

This industry consists primarily of two product categories. One area includes the waterproof footwear worn over shoes to protect them from inclement weather. Such products are often...

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