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The footwear industry is relevant from the perspective of job creation, mainly for developing countries, due to the reduced level of demand and training time for the employed workforce. In this perspective, it also stands out for its importance in tax collection, the creation of productive clusters, consolidation of the local productive matrix, providing opportunities for the emergence of new businesses and stimulating entrepreneurship. However, at the same time, the footwear industry also contributes to the deterioration of the environment, resulting from its own production activities or related to the supply chain and disposal of products, at the end of their life cycle. Thus, research is justified with the objective of highlighting alternatives for recycling in the footwear manufacturing process, the results of which served as the basis for the preparation of this article. To achieve this objective, the authors opted for a single case study, in one of the largest footwear industries in the country, a qualitative approach, with the collection of empirical data through in-depth interviews with professionals appointed by the company, with deep knowledge of the process of footwear production, documentary survey and non-participant systematic observation. The content analysis of the empirical data showed that the characteristics of the shoes, as well as the operational practices adopted, make it difficult to recycle shoes. Even so, several alternatives were pointed out, technically viable and, in the perception of the interviewees, also economically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To analyze the feasibility of a reverse logistics process in the footwear production, using two technologies from industry 4.0 - RFID and Cloud Computing. Methodology: A case study was carried out in a large footwear industry, located in southern region of the country; qualitative approach, with data collection through semi-structured interviews, documental research (internal digital records/intranet) and non-participant systematic observation. Findings: The empirical data showed that the two technologies analyzed, RFID and Cloud Computing, are already implemented in some operations in the company, and offer technical conditions to operationalize the reverse logistics process. Originality/value: Industrial operations promote various actions to adapt to environmental standards, both legal ones, already in force, and the recommended ones, resulting from pressure from society, increasingly aware of the need for changes in processes that negatively impact the environment. Among these actions, the adoption of reverse logistics stands out, considered one of the structuring axes of the National Solid Waste Policy, enacted in 2010. This analysis, regarding the contribution of these two technologies is justified by intentions of footwear companies to employ these technologies in the manufacturing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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