Mandatory footwear quality standards from July 1 : BIS

To curb sub-standard imports from countries like China, large and medium-scale footwear manufacturers and all importers will have to follow the mandatory quality standards for 24 footwear and related products from July 1.

For small-scale footwear makers, the deadline is January 1, 2024, while for the micro footwear industry, the mandatory quality standards will be applicable from July 1, 2024, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Director General Pramod Kumar Tiwari told reporters here.

The 24 footwear products on which the quality standards will apply include rubber gum boots, PVC sandals, rubber hawai chappals, slippers, moulded plastic footwear, footwear used for municipal scavenging work; sports footwear, derby shoes and anti-riot shoes, moulded solid rubber soles and heels, among others.

With this, the total number of footwear products under the QCO (quality control order) stands at 27 out of 54. The Indian standards are aligned with the global standards. The remaining 27 and other footwear products will be brought under the QCO in the next six months, Tiwari said.

The standards prescribe what kind of raw material like leather, PVC, and rubber to be used in manufacturing footwear besides norms on making soles and heels, among other parts of the footwear.

He also shared that the BIS has revised five standards on footwear specifications, and the industry has been given an additional time of six months till January 1, 2024, to comply with the QCOs.

Test facilities have been created in 2 BIS labs, 2 Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) Labs, Central Leather Research Institute and 11 private labs for testing footwear, he added.