Chemical Management for Footwear Manufacturers

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overview

This Chemical Management for Footwear Manufacturers course on chemical management has been designed for footwear manufacturers based on the digitized Suppliers Roadmap to Zero. This advanced level course will help you understand, implement and strengthen chemical management systems at your facility.

Supplier facilities that manufacture leather and/or synthetic footwear, use chemicals in their processes and which may treat and discharge wastewater. Some of these facilities may fall below the discharge threshold of <15m3 per day. This group covers the following:

  • Leather FootwearAssembler
  • Synthetic FootwearAssembler
  • Vertically Integrated Leather Footwear Manufacturer (i.e having leather tannery processes along with footwear manufacturing)
  • Vertically Integrated Synthetic Footwear Manufacturer (i.e having coating processes of synthetic materials along with footwear manufacturing)

Please read the target audience tab to understand these categories further.

If you do not fall under any of these categories, you may be eligible for another course instead. You can also ask the Zeddy chatbot, check with the ATP, or reach out to the Academy team to ensure you are signing up for the correct course.

Prerequisite

Learners should have any one of the following to sign up for this course:

  • Chemical Management Fundamentals course certificate
  • Chemical Management Fundamentals Exam only certificate
  • Valid certificate of any one of the following courses:
    • CMS TIG Training
    • CMS TIG Refresher Training
    • Top 10 Best practices

If you do not have either of the above, you will not be accepted into the training course. Please upload the relevant certificate at the sign up stage.


target audience

Supplier Profile: Footwear Manufacturers

Supplier facilities that manufacture leather and/or synthetic footwear, use chemicals in their processes and which may treat and discharge wastewater. Some of these facilities may fall below the discharge threshold of <15m3 per day:

Leather Footwear Assembler

  • Manufacturing/Assembling footwear made from leather materials which involves combining pre-cut leather components (uppers, soles, linings, and other parts) using processes such as moulding, lasting, priming, cementing, Glueing, Polishing, stitching, adhesive bonding, and finishing to produce complete leather footwear according to design specifications

Synthetic Footwear Assembler

  • Manufacturing/Assembling footwear made from synthetic materials such as polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), etc. as well as synthetic coated fabrics with polyurethane (PU) coating, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coating or other polymeric coatings which involves combining pre-processed synthetic components (uppers, soles, linings, and other parts) using processes such as molding, lasting, priming, cementing, glueing, polishing, stitching, adhesive, bonding, and finishing to produce complete synthetic footwear according to design specifications

Vertically Integrated Leather Footwear Manufacturer

  • Completion of the entire leather production process from raw hides or skins to finished leather, which includes tanning, post-tanning, and finishing and Assembling footwear made from leather materials which involves combining pre-cut leather components (uppers, soles, linings, and other parts) using processes such as moulding, lasting, priming, cementing, Glueing, Polishing, stitching, adhesive bonding, and finishing to produce complete leather footwear according to design specifications

Vertically Integrated Synthetic Footwear Manufacturer

  • Completion of the entire synthetic footwear production process, including the coating and lamination of textile substrates with polymeric coatings such as Polyurethane (PU), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), and other specialised polymers, followed by the assembly of synthetic footwear. The assembly process involves footwear made from synthetic materials such as polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), etc., as well as synthetic coated fabrics with polyurethane (PU) coating, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coating or other polymeric coatings which involves combining pre-processed synthetic components (uppers, soles, linings, and other parts) using processes such as molding, lasting, priming, cementing, glueing, polishing, stitching, adhesive, bonding, and finishing to produce complete synthetic footwear according to design specifications.

prerequisite

Learners should have any one of the following to sign up for this course:

  • Chemical Management Fundamentals course certificate
  • Chemical Management Fundamentals Exam only certificate
  • Valid certificate of any one of the following courses:
    • CMS TIG Training
    • CMS TIG Refresher Training
    • Top 10 Best practices

If you do not have either of the above, you will not be accepted into the training course. Please upload the relevant certificate at the sign up stage.

learning outcome

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

Input

  • Develop and implement a chemical purchasing policy covering formulations, commodity chemicals, and solvents in line with ZDHC MRSL requirements.

  • Maintain an accurate and up-to-date ZDHC Chemical Inventory List (CIL) and use it to drive purchasing and improvement actions.

  • Generate and interpret ZDHC Performance InCheck Reports and take corrective actions to improve MRSL conformance.

  • Implement chemical traceability, including lot/batch recording and FIFO practices, to support compliance, audits, and root cause analysis.

  • Manage input materials through structured purchasing, traceability, self-declarations, certifications, and risk-based due diligence processes, including maintaining the ZDHC Material Inventory List (MIL).

  • Evaluate procurement risks related to footwear-specific chemicals and define purchasing criteria to reduce MRSL and occupational health risks.

  • Understand the chemical risks associated with footwear manufacturing processes, particularly the use of adhesives, primers, and solvent-based formulations.

Process

  • Define the scope, goals, and action plan of a Chemical Management Strategy (CMS), including engagement with upstream suppliers.

  • Allocate roles, responsibilities, and resources required for effective CMS implementation.

  • Design, assess, and improve safe chemical storage systems, including labelling, chemical safety cards, and compatibility precautions.

  • Implement engineering and administrative controls to reduce worker exposure to solvents in footwear manufacturing environments.

  • Establish document and process control systems, including SOPs for document control, incident management, housekeeping, and maintenance.

  • Review and improve the CMS through audits, management reviews, corrective actions, and structured training plans.

Output

  • Identify, quantify, and manage chemical-related waste, including safe storage, handling, reduction, reuse, and disposal.

  • Understand wastewater and sludge testing requirements, interpret ClearStream reports, and plan improvement actions based on results.

  • Conduct RCA and CAP for MRSL, metals, and conventional parameter non-conformities in wastewater and sludge.

  • Understand and report Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions using ZDHC tools.

  • Calculate and interpret the Potential to Emit (PTE) for VOCs arising from footwear-specific chemicals and processes.

course curriculum

This course covers the following topics:

Input

  • Chemical Purchasing
  • InCheck Reporting
  • Chemical Traceability
  • Input Material Purchasing
  • Input Material Traceability

Process

  • Chemical Management Strategy
  • Safe Chemical Storage
  • Chemical Handling and worker safety
  • Document and Process Control
  • Continuous Improvement Actions
  • Waste Management

Output

  • Wastewater and Sludge guidelines
  • Air Emissions
  • Waste Disposal

The training content will include footwear manufacturing related topics and examples.


Upcoming courses

Upcoming available courses have not been planned in at the moment, contact ZDHC Academy via support@zdhc.org for information.