An outsole for a shoe has a backing member of thermoplastic rubber and on
an area of the exterior surface of that backing member an intermediate
layer of thermoplastic polyurethane and an outermost layer of fabric, the
area comprising at least 51 percent of the contact surface of the
outsole. In producing the outsole, a sheet of fabric is overlain with a
sheet of thermo plastic urethane, the sheet is heated to about the
melting point of the TPU to permit the TPU to adhere to the fabric, and
the fabric is cooled. The TPU-covered fabric is cut to the size and shape
required to fit a backing member, and position in a mold on a bottom
surface of a mold, and a quantity of TPR is injected at a temperature
lower than the melting point of the TPU but high enough to render the TPU
tacky, to insure the inherence of the TPU-covered fabric to the backing,
including the resultant outsole.