
Record-breakers: shoes like these have seen runners shattering all kinds of records for the past decade – thanks to the foam technology made in a Croydon factory. But now Zotefoams wants to move its manufacturing base to Vietnam
The foam for the super shoes that help star runners like Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson break records is made in a factory off Mitcham Road. The company wants to move production to Vietnam and make one-third of its Croydon workforce redundant, while the borough’s Mayor refuses to do anything about it. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES
It’s a seemingly modest light industrial site not far from Mitcham Common. Yet the cutting-edge materials produced at the Zotefoams factory are credited with helping deliver up to 20 running world records in the last decade, thanks to innovative “super shoes” made by US sportswear giant Nike.
Now around 100 workers at Zotefoam’s Croydon factory face their own race for survival, as their employers want to make them redundant as they shift their foam manufacture to the Far East.
Zotefoam’s formal redundancy consultation process for around 100 staff began last week.
Yet Croydon’s Mayor, Jason Perry, refused to convene a meeting of workers, unions and councillors to look for ways of saving as many jobs as possible. And when someone else did what Perry refused to do, and called a meeting, Croydon’s failed Mayor failed to show up. Continue reading


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