Fernandes, Isabel P.Rafael, Helder MartinsFernandes, Albano M.Nunes, BernardoPinto, VeraFerreira, Maria JoséBarreiro, M.F.2018-10-172018-10-172018Fernandes, I.P.; Rafael, H.M.; Fernandes, A.M.; Nunes, B.; Pinto, V.V.; Ferreira, M.J.; Barreiro, M.F. (2018). Development of new footwear materials within the extralight safe shoe project. In 9th Conference Green Chemistry and Nanotechnologies in Polymeric Materials. Cracow, Polóniahttp://hdl.handle.net/10198/18090At present, footwear is considered as one of the most internationalized sectors of the Portuguese industry, having a major importance for the national economy, as it is proved by 2017 economic data: 83.3 billion shoes pairs were exported, representing an average value of 1.96 billion euros. The remarkable progress of the footwear sector is strongly related with the investment in research and technological development made in the last years, along with an attentive surveillance of the market opportunities, which in its turns, allows the identification the latest consumer demands and of new business opportunities. One example of these novel tendencies is the actual society demand for lightweight and comfortable footwear, which prompted the development of ultralight (low-density) materials. Additionally, the evolution of consumers' environmental awareness, allied to the demand for bio-products, is considered a challenge for the footwear sector. Thus, both challenges motivated the development of new materials within the scope of the Extralight Safe Shoe project, namely ultralight microcellular polyurethanes and natural composite-based materials. In this context, the work performed was focused on: (i) the development of ultralight microcellular polyurethanes (PUs) with suitable properties for the production of midsoles for technical footwear, and (ii) the development of lighter and more flexible PU/cork composites for production of insoles.engconference object