Footwear glossary · Materials
What is PU (polyurethane) in shoes?
PU (polyurethane)
PU (polyurethane) is a versatile footwear material used as synthetic leather for uppers, as cushioned midsoles, and as durable abrasion- and oil-resistant outsoles. It is light, hard-wearing and common in safety, dress and casual footwear.
As an upper, PU synthetic leather is uniform, easy to clean and lower-cost than real leather. As a sole, PU offers good abrasion and oil resistance and comfortable cushioning, and is often injected directly onto the upper.
Poorly made PU can hydrolyse (break down with age and humidity), so material quality and storage matter.
DOING uses PU across uppers and soles and tests hydrolysis resistance, abrasion and bond strength.
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