Life Cycle

Converse shoe and Coffee Dripper

Life circle of an object

Extraction:

Stainless steel: Alloy steels that contain 10% – 30%(by weight) chromium and combined with a low percentage of carbon. Stainless steel is notable for its outstanding resistance of corrosion and heat, which increases as the percentage of chromium content increasing. Other elements such as nickel, molybdenum, and selenium help the alloy steels to increase corrosion resistance to specific environments. Plus, enhances oxidation resistance, and impart special characteristics.

Cotton canvas: Canvas was usually made of hemp, but now most of the canvas are made of cotton or linen. It differs from other heavy cotton fabrics, such as denim, in being plain weave rather than twill weave. Also, canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric, it is popular for the artist to use as a painting surface, usually fix across a wooden frame. It is also used in the fashion industry, for instance, handbags and shoes.

Nylon: Nylon is also known as synthetic polymers, which based on aliphatic or semi-aromatic polyamides. Nylon is used for a variety of applications to reinforcement in rubber material like car tires, for use as a thread, clothing, and molded into the mechanical equipment.  

Rubber: Rubber is a material that consists of the majority amount of polymers of the organic compound isoprene and water. The natural rubber is mainly harvested from the rubber tree and process it to the material that people are able to use for production.

 

Production:

Converse Rubber Shoe Company was founded in February 1908 in Malden, Massachusetts. Yet, as the market growing, converse moved their manufacturing from the U.S to China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia.  

Assembly: The workers first attach the outside part of soft white rubber shoe to the upper part and sole of the shoe. Then, they will bring the entire shoe to a vulcanizing oven(which will harden the rubber by treating it with sulfur at a high temperature) and heat it to around 170˚C(300˚F) to strength the structure of the material.

 

Distribution:

Average wage: An worker of Nike(Converse) in China and Vietnam earned around $73.94 US dollars in a month.

Shipment: All of the Converse footwear is produced outside of the U.S. The suppliers are China(36%), Vietnam(36%), Indonesia(22%), and Thailand(6%). After the production, it takes around 1-1.5 month to process and ship(shipping) to the retail store around the world.

Consumption:

The potential buyer for the Converse shoe is everywhere and the age range is from 1-year-old up to 80-year-old. The reason why this object is able to reach that big group of people is that it is a daily necessity, everyone will need a pair of shoes to walk on the street. Also, the Converse shoe has it irreplaceable style and has been in the fashion trend for the last 20 years, and it is still the first choice for some people as they choosing their outfit.     

Disposal:  

The converse shoe can be considered as a consumables merchandise among the daily supplies. It is because people use it as a protection for their feet, which means it wears down as the time passed. Also, most parts of the shoe are made of recycled material so it is easy to fell apart. Yet, due to the material(canvas) that the shoe used, it makes the disposal process then becomes possible. For instance, for those who seek for a durable and inexpensive material, the cotton canvas from the Converse shoe has become a perfect option.     

 

Source:

https://www.britannica.com/technology/stainless-steel

https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/3d-printing-injection-molding-cnc-nylon-plastic-pa

http://www.bigduckcanvas.com/categories/resources/what-is-canvas.html

https://www.contrado.co.uk/blog/what-is-polyester-a-closer-look-into-this-love-it-or-hate-it-fabric/

http://www.explainthatstuff.com/rubber.html

http://sneakerfactory.net/sneakers/2017/10/how-converse-all-stars-are-made-vulcanized-process/

https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-04-15/chinese-workers-are-staging-massive-strike-factory-making-nike-and-converse-shoes

https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/threads_and_laces/2014/05/how-much-do-nike-contract-factory-workers-get-paid.html

http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Nike_(NKE)/Manufacturing

 

Leave a reply

Skip to toolbar