Insights into footwear preferences and insole design to improve thermal environment of footwear

ABSTRACT

Increasing concern about footwear comfort today amongst consumers has motivated manufacturers to design footwear with optimal thermal comfort. In this study, footwear preferences and the microclimate of footwear made of leather and mesh spacer fabric are evaluated. The subjective sensations when wearing the two types of shoes are investigated. Among the 80 subjects, most prefer the mesh fabric sports shoes as their walking shoes because the leather sports shoes trap more heat and moisture on the feet. Gender, age and type of activity have a significantly linear relationship with perceived temperature, humidity and comfort of the footwear. The materials used for both the shoe upper and insole have the most influence on footwear thermal comfort. The findings in this study can be a reference source for the design and development of footwear with better wear comfort.

KEYWORDS:

• Footwear preference
• insole design
• thermal distribution
• shoe microclimate

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Annie Yu http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3413-1880

Pui-ling Li http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7949-5346

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Faculty Research Fund [grant number 1-ZVLH]; Innovation and Technology Fund [grant number ITF/107/16].