I vividly remember that at the beginning of the 70's, when I was still a child, I was moved to accompany my father, Carlos Romero Huxley (RIP), to the fur warehouse he owned, where most of the footwear manufacturers of the Mexico City. I loved the smell of the different leathers and I liked seeing the range of textures and colors that changed each season.

In 1973, when my parents opened their 1st. small 100% leather shoe factory, hardly anyone made synthetic shoes.

With the entry of imports, first Brazilian and then Chinese, many of the leather manufacturers felt that competition was unfair, since the new imports were cheaper in every way: 100% synthetic (lining, upper and sole) and lower quality.

So, many Mexican manufacturers began to use synthetic materials to reduce their costs and be able to compete with the large number of pairs that were arriving from China.

We decided to continue manufacturing 100% leather shoes: upper, lining and sole. Since we know that a good shoe must be made of leather.

This worldwide phenomenon, not only in Mexico, has resulted in the majority of shoe manufacturers using only synthetic materials since their main concern is economic: lowering the cost and making their production easier. Which significantly reduces the quality.

 An example of "synthetic" (which is basically polyurethane) vs. authentic leather, is that the leather, being a natural product, must be cut by hand, taking care to avoid natural flaws and tears; On the other hand, the synthetic is cut in a single blow with a die. In the synthetic there are significant savings in material cost, deci-meter and labor, but the real cost is a significant reduction in quality.

At REGINA ROMERO, by using natural products such as skin and leather for uppers, linings and soles, we seek to be of the best quality.

The skin we use is a by-product of meat and milk for human food. To take care of the flavor and texture of the meat, some ranches take care of everything from the food to how it is grazed. From this moment, the 1st is created. great difference of the leather against the synthetic.

Making leather shoes is a manufacturing issue, there are many manual processes involved. Expert "hands" are required in cutting, machining, mounting, adorning, etc. and each shoe goes through many "hands". On the other hand, the synthetic shoe is not manufacturing, only production. It is rather machines that produce the shoe and a model is produced in large volumes. Therefore, the manufacture of the skin is more complicated, complex, laborious and goes to detail.

Making leather shoes, today more than ever, is an art, which starts from how the skin is cared for in life, tanned, cut, machined, assembled, detailed, decorated, etc.

This is why every day there are fewer of us who manufacture leather shoes.

At REGINA ROMERO, using leather, in addition to providing you with the highest quality, is part of our commitment to caring for the environment. Synthetic materials are derived from petroleum and take more than 500 years to biodegrade, damaging our ecosystem.

By George Romero.

We recommend you read:

https://www.salud180.com/salud-dia-dia/7-razones-para-no-usar-zapatos-sinteticos

7 Reasons not to wear synthetic shoes

1. Shoes made of plastic or synthetic materials do not allow the foot to perspire.
2. These types of models have internal seams that cause chafing.
3. Synthetic shoes are usually stiff; what our foot needs is a soft and flexible shoe.
4. They cause a bad smell.
5. They are a propitious source for the appearance of fungi and bacteria.
6. Synthetic shoes do not provide heel support and can cause foot slippage due to sweat. This has the consequence that we slip and we are not comfortable in them.
7. The foot should feel comfortable and wide, and each toe should have slack space. What does not happen with ordinary shoes .