Industrial manufacturing of shoe cream and Polish is offered as a one full day course by Cosmetics and Detergents Kenya Limited. The training entails comprehensive theory, raw material analysis, percentage ratios of ingredients, weighing, qualitative analysis etc. Let’s have a look at what shoe polish/cream is.
By simple definition, a Shoe Polish is a waxy paste or cream used to polish, shine, and restore the appearance of leather and footwear products. Its extended function is to water-proof, improve and maintain the appearance of shoe. Shoe polish is not only used on footwear but can also be applied to all leather materials including bags, etc. The most prominent type of shoe polish in East Africa is Kiwi, Kangaroo, Polistel and Kaluma Shoe cream. Shoe polish can be classified into three types: Wax , Creamy emulsion, and Liquid. Each differs in detailed composition.
These polishes have a gelatinous consistency. They are of light consistency and are packaged in PET bottles.
Wax-based shoe polish
They are slightly harder in consistency compared to shoe cream. Its waxy composition is determined by a balance of waxes, solvents and oils that influence its hardness. “..owing to their high content of volatile solvents, wax-based shoe polish harden after application, while retaining its gloss.. ” says Kubai, a technologist at Cosmetics and Detergents Kenya Limited Institute.
The processes for producing a standard shoe polish is straightforward and the required equipment is relatively cheap and easy to acquire. The cost of establishing small scale shoe polish manufacturing facility in Kenya, Uganda and Burundi has been estimated at around Ksh 15,000.
In taking our trainees through theory and practicals, we emphasize on standard procedures based on Kenya Bureau of Standards’ guidelines. This is to avoid poorly blended polishes that are known to suffer from blooming, evidenced by the appearance of a white coating of stearin on the polish surface.
While inspecting a sample made by a Ugandan national today, Herman pointed out that the secrecy sorounding industrial processes in third world countries is a creation of business cartels who have a direct influence on curriculum design and development in institutions of higher learning.