The State Administration for Market Regulation of China has recently issued the standard GB/T 28011-2021 “Shanks for Footwear”. This standard specifies product classification, technical requirements, test methods, requirements for marking, packaging, transportation, and storage. It applies to shanks for shoes of size 200 and above.

According to the standard, there are three types of shanks depending on the shape:

• I-type
• L-type
• Y-type 

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Shanks can also be divided into three classes:

• Shoe shanks for men
• Shoe shanks for women
• Shoe shanks for children 

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When product is tested under the GB/T 28011-2021, the following parameters are checked:

• Marking. It should contain product name, specification (length, width, thickness), applicable effective heel height, quantity, manufacturer name, factory address, trademark, production date, moisture-proof mark, certificate, and implementation standard number;
• Appearance;
• Length;
• Longitudinal stiffness;
• Hardness;
• Bending resistance. It should be checked under test temperature: (23±2)℃ with test speed:(60±10) s/r

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Please, note that the standard contains required parameters for the metal shank and non-metal shank that differ from each other.

If one or more shanks models fail to meet the requirements of this Standard during the tests, these items will be considered as nonconforming and, as a hence, the batch of the product will be deemed nonconforming. However, according to the standard there are provisions that allow to conduct the re-inspection. Among them are the following: 

• sensory quality
• size tolerance
• fatigue resistance 

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In this case, it is necessary to double the number of samples  from the original batch of products for re-inspection. 

However, if one of the following parameters does not pass the inspection, the whole batch is considered as unsatisfactory:

• mark 
• length 
• longitudinal rigidity 
• hardness
• bending performance

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The GB/T 28011-2021 becomes mandatory from March 1, 2022. It permits manufacturers to prepare for the requirements properly. Once the GB/T 28011-2021 is effective, the previous version of 2011 will be terminated.

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The information has been prepared by the GMA Consult Group team.‍

GMA Consult Group provides a full cycle of international type approval and global market access services for IT, Telecom, and industrial electrical products in all countries throughout the world. With proven expertise in worldwide regulations, compliance, certification, and conformity assessment, GMA Consult Group can help your company speed up the access to any market with almost zero efforts from your side.

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