Sole bond adhesion failure is the primary cause of wear returns from dissatisfied consumers. The resulting compensation and brand damage, coupled with potential safety concerns, is an expensive burden on retailers, sourcing companies and manufacturers. The bonding process comprises several critical operations and a weakness or fault in one of them is highly likely to affect the final quality.
The SATRA Sole Bond Award is based on best practice operating processes linked to a quality management system. The first step in achieving the award is for SATRA to visit the factory to assess the current sole bonding processes. The factory would then make any necessary improvements and allow SATRA to carry out operator training if required. Regular bond testing either at SATRA or using the factory’s own SATRA accredited in-house laboratory would need to be undertaken. To maintain the award, the factory would allow SATRA to take random samples for testing once a year and carry out a thorough audit of the processes and procedures associated with sole bonding.