OLD TYRE SHOES

Hutt News, Volume 2, Issue 34, 30 January 1930, Page 12

OLD TYRE SHOES

U.S. EXPORT TRADE

How many American motorists when they discard their old and worn automobile tyres know that they are providing at least three pairs of shoes for some peasant in a distant lanci? asks a United States exchange. Few Americans while visiting Japan, China, and Korea realise that the stealthy footed coolies wear a "tabi" with a rubber sole cut from an old tyre which they perhaps junked months before in the States. It is little known, but the making of footwear from old tyres has now become a worth-while arid profitable industry.

Shoes made from junked tyres are worn by the mountaineers in Macedonia and Thrace, the peons and inoaans of Latin America and the peasants of Andalusia, Castile and Catalonia. In fact such shoes are far more popular than the old leather sandals with throngs, although not all take kindly to the latest "zapata de cauthouc."

This shoe of cast-off rubber is much softer to their feet. It protects, Macedonians from the snow, slush, and rain of their mountains and it protects the Mexicans from their sunbaked paths. In Spain tyre shoes are rivalling ithe inexpensive rope-soled alpargata whic.h has been worn by the people for generations.

The neighbourhood) junkman in American cities, as well as the large dealer, is only too anxious to buy. old tyres, for he knows that there are distributors in foreign ports awaiting his supply. Vessels destined to all. points of the globe regularly carry discarded tyres as part of tlieir cargo. '

(The demand for old tyres is particularly strong in the northern section of Greece, wnere approximately 60,000 funked tyres are imported annually through the port of Salonika. One old tyre yields at least three pairs of Greek shoes, inasmuch as the tyreshoe retails around 60 cent of lour currency it may be said that the annual business in tyre-shoes aggregates something like 180,000 dollars. ■ . ,* '

Shoes worn by* the' mountaineers of Greece are called f rteharik," and were formerly made of leather, Taut the old fashioned tchaiik of leather has almost disappeared since the introduction of the tyre tchariik. The tyre tcharik has become so popular in Greece that the former annual: importation of 30,----000 to 35,000 cow yand buffalo dried Motes has been entirely wiped out.

The leather tcharik was made by the peasant from an oblong piece of hide six to eight inches wide, shaped to the foot by turning up tha sides of the strip. A leather lacing was placed" around through all the edges.. A hide tcharik, lasted only from one and onehalf months, while the tyre tcharik ■wears from eight to twelve months. The rubber tcharik is the more tiresome, to wear, because of its weight, but gives

better protection from dampness,

In making the tcharik the auto^o-" mile tyre is cut first into the (appropriate lengths after which the carcase or canvas lining is removed. The pieces of tyre are then fastened, at heel. ana toe with wire. - The canvas lining is used to make ; up the tongue and strips with which the tcharik is fastened to the foot by a small buckle. The odge of the tyre near the toe of the shoe is cnt several times enabling the tcharik to converge slightly. A narrow strip of the carcase .is laced around the top of the shoe by means of small slits. This, when drawn, gathers the finished pror duct into the shape of a jshoe.

In Greece automobile tyres of French origin are more in demand than those' from the United States, perhaps Tjecause shorter hauls enable them to be sold upon the Greek market at prices below those of the tyres from the United States. The American junkman, how.ever,_ is obtaining a sligfrt share of the Greek trade. In 1928 the United States shipped to Greece old rubber amounting to 40,606 pounds, valued at 77 dollars. French exporters usually offer old tyres at from 50 to 65 cents apiece, freight prepaid to Salonika!;

In Spain the new fashioned footwear is called tlie and has won favour with the simple. peasants for its economy ano; lasting1 qualities. The industry flourishes in the small towns and villages of the interior provinces. The proprietors of the abarca shops.

make periodic visits to the trading centres and select the pieces of tyre's with great care, often- handling individual tyres. • The supply of old tyres from- Spanish automobiles is never enough for the rapidly growing abarc* industry,. there^ fore increasing quantities are imported from the United States, Great Britain and the Netherlands.- The United States in 1928 exported to Spain 12,413,895 pounds of old rubber valued at 710,956'd011ar5.