Humidity control in footwear logistics

En este tema conoceremos principalmente que es un Desecante, in which it is used, how it works, costs and benefits obtained, its importance and why to apply it within your logistics processes.

What is a Desiccant or Moisture Absorber?

A desiccant is a substance that has the ability to absorb moisture and induces or maintains a state of dryness (desiccation) in its vicinity (Wikipedia, 2015).

Knowing the Desiccant concept, we will focus on a product that is Silica Gel that has great performance and absorption capacity.

Desiccant or moisture absorber applications

In the Mexican footwear and leather goods industry, moisture absorbers have taken on greater relevance due to the country’s geographical location and the continuous changes in humidity in different areas of the territory. (Los percances que está ocasionando el monstruo de la humedad en México – DABESA) , today they protect footwear and leather from its packaging in the factory to its arrival at the end user, passing through its stay in the warehouse, its land and sea transport, and the distributor’s warehouse. They not only protect the footwear, but also the cardboard and paper packaging that carries it.

They avoid container rain and also the sweat of the load, they are environmentally friendly because they are reusable, providing value to the consumer so that they can protect the leather of their footwear every day after use. It is free of DMF Dimethyl Fumarate or toxic substances.

Silica Gel works as follows: before closing the shoe box, a small bag is placed, which is generally 3 grams or 5 grams of Silica Gel, depending on the size of the box.

Among the benefits and advantages of using Silica Gel in footwear, we can mention that it prevents damage caused by humidity such as fungus, mold, cardboard softening, oxidation and corrosion. It also eliminates the appearance of bad odors.

In addition to maintaining the quality and presentation of the products, since evitan el deterioro del empaque y embalaje así como el desprendimiento y daño de las etiquetas.

This product was created due to this need, the number of rejected shipments that were damaged by humidity in the ports of the world. It is worth mentioning that even if the exporter or importer, as the case may be, takes out cargo/merchandise insurance, this will not cover damages such as cargo sweat, container rain, mold, among others, since these are considered “Acts of God” and are not covered by said policy. (CMACGM, 2006). Likewise, you will have a customer satisfied with the merchandise and even be able to get a recommendation, which would add value to the product you are exporting.

Humidity control in the shipping container.

In the container we can put bags of calcium bentonite to avoid “container rain” which is the condensation of water vapor in small drops that adhere to all surfaces, weakening the packaging and causing mold, corrosion and other problems.

Bentonite bags come in 500g, 1kg and 2kg presentations.

In conclusion, we can determine that Desiccants are of great importance for the protection of exports, avoiding rejections of merchandise and in addition to being a low-investment product that can be applied in various branches of industry.