Shop by material
PU & Synthetic Leather Shoes
PU is the backbone of most volume ranges: predictable cost, consistent colour, and it repeats from season to season without the variation you get from a hide.
In our library PU is the single largest material family. That is not an accident — it is the material that lets a buyer put twelve styles on a shelf at one price point and have them look like they belong together.
The styles below are a working selection. Every one of them can be re-cut in a different PU, a different colour or a different sole, so treat this as a starting point rather than a fixed list.
106 styles in this collection, showing the first 15. Ask for the complete list.
What "PU" actually covers
A buyer who writes "PU upper" on a tech pack has specified almost nothing. In this range PU means at least six different things: plain coated PU, patent (high-gloss) PU, croc-embossed, snake-embossed, metallic foil-laminated, and printed PU. They differ in cost, in how they age and in what the end customer sees after three months of wear.
Name the finish, not just the material. If you are working from a reference shoe, send it or send a close-up photograph with the light raking across the surface — that is the only way to tell patent from a high-gloss coating, or a fine emboss from a print.
Why buyers choose it
Cost is stable and quotable in advance, which matters when you are pricing a range six months before it ships. Colour matching across a range is straightforward because the material is made to a reference rather than selected from what a tannery happens to have.
It also solves a panel-layout problem. A hide has a size and a grain direction; a roll of PU does not. That is why PU styles can be cut with more panels, more seams and more decorative cutting without the material cost climbing.
Where it goes wrong
Two failure modes account for most of the complaints we see. The first is hydrolysis: PU coatings can break down in hot, humid storage, and the shoe starts to peel or go tacky before it ever reaches a shop floor. If your goods will sit in a warm warehouse or a tropical climate, say so at the quoting stage — the specification changes.
The second is flex cracking in the cold. A PU that performs well in a Zhuji summer can crack along the vamp crease in a northern European winter. If you are selling into a cold market, tell us the market, not just the style.
What to put in your tech pack
Base fabric and coating thickness, the emboss reference (a name or a physical swatch), the finish (matte, satin, gloss), the colour standard, and whether trims, piping and lining must match the upper exactly or may contrast.
Then add the two lines most tech packs leave out: the lowest temperature the shoe will be worn at, and whether the customer expects the upper to be wipe-clean. Those two answers decide which PU we quote.
Ordering notes
Specification & terms
| Upper | PU, patent PU, croc-embossed PU, snake-embossed PU, metallic PU, printed PU |
|---|---|
| Lining | Textile or PU, to your specification |
| Outsole | TPR as standard, rubber or jute on request |
| Size range | EU 36–42 women's as standard, other sizes to order |
| Colour | Matched to your Pantone TCX reference or to a physical swatch |
| Packing | Your labels, hang tags, polybags, barcodes and cartons |
| MOQ | Quoted per style and per colour. Trial quantities are available for stock constructions — ask us for the exact minimum on the styles you are considering. |
| Sampling | Sample lead time and cost are confirmed with your quotation. Sample cost is normally credited against a confirmed bulk order. |
| Lead time | Confirmed on the order acknowledgement, after sample approval and deposit. Peak season and Chinese New Year need earlier booking. |
| Port | Ningbo / Shanghai, China |
What to send us
Style codes, quantities per style and colour, your market, your target retail price and the date you need the goods. If you are matching a material, send a swatch or a close-up photograph.
Next step
Send us the PU finish you have in mind
Send a reference photo or a swatch and the price point you need to hit. We will come back with the styles that fit it, in the finish that will survive your market.