EN ISO 20537:2025

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-marec-2025
Obutev - Izrazje za prepoznavanje napak med vizualnim pregledom (ISO
20537:2025)
Footwear - Vocabulary for identification of defects during visual inspection (ISO
20537:2025)
Schuhe - Begriffe zur Identifikation von Fehlern bei der Sichtprüfung (ISO 20537:2025)
Chaussures - Vocabulaire pour l'identification des défauts lors d'un contrôle visuel (ISO
20537:2025)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 20537:2025
ICS:
01.040.61 Oblačilna industrija (Slovarji) Clothing industry
(Vocabularies)
61.060 Obuvala Footwear
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EN ISO 20537
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
January 2025
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 01.040.61; 61.060
English Version
Footwear - Identification of defects during visual
inspection - Vocabulary (ISO 20537:2025)
Chaussures - Identification des défauts lors d'un Schuhe - Begriffe zur Identifikation von Fehlern bei der
contrôle visuel - Vocabulaire (ISO 20537:2025) Sichtprüfung (ISO 20537:2025)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 9 December 2023.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2025 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN ISO 20537:2025 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 3

European foreword
This document (EN ISO 20537:2025) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 216
"Footwear" in collaboration with Technical Committee CEN/TC 309 “Footwear” the secretariat of which
is held by UNE.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by July 2025, and conflicting national standards shall be
withdrawn at the latest by July 2025.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards
body/national committee. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of
North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the
United Kingdom.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 20537:2025 has been approved by CEN as EN ISO 20537:2025 without any modification.

International
Standard
ISO 20537
First edition
Footwear — Identification of
2025-01
defects during visual inspection —
Vocabulary
Reference number
ISO 20537:2025(en) © ISO 2025
ISO 20537:2025(en)
© ISO 2025
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
ISO 20537:2025(en)
Contents  Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1  Scope . 1
2  Normative references . 1
3  Terms and definitions . 1
3.1 General defects .1
3.2 Defects in materials aspects .4
3.3 Defects in components .5
3.3.1 Defects in upper .5
3.3.2 Defects in counter and toe puff .8
3.3.3 Defects in lining and insock.10
3.3.4 Defects in welt and foxing .11
3.3.5 Defects in heel . . 12
3.3.6 Defects in outsole.14
3.3.7 Defects in other components . 15
3.4 Manufacturing defects .17
3.4.1 Defects in assembly .17
3.4.2 Gluing defects .19
3.4.3 Sewing defects . 20
3.4.4 Defects in other process . 23
3.5 Defects within pairs .24
3.6 Defects in markings . 28
Bibliography .31

iii
ISO 20537:2025(en)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through
ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee
has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations,
governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely
with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types
of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the
ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a)
patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent
rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a)
patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that
this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at
www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions
related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 216, Footwear, in collaboration with the
European Committee for Standardization (CEN) Technical Committee CEN/TC 309, Footwear, in accordance
with the Agreement on technical cooperation between ISO and CEN (Vienna Agreement).
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

iv
ISO 20537:2025(en)
Introduction
Visual inspection is important for manufacturers, suppliers, inspection organizations and costumers as one
of the quality indicators of footwear products. This document is not only intended as a basis for assessing
footwear appearance defects but also as a reference material and training material for the footwear industry.
The presence of one of these defects in footwear does not automatically imply that the footwear is
substandard. Suppliers and purchasers can still reach an agreement on the scope and level of acceptance for
defects in the goods, based on the intended use of the footwear.
Due to the development of material and technology in the footwear industry, as well as insufficient
photographic resources, it is impossible to define all terms for identification of defects during visual
inspection of footwear. The list of terms given in this document is not exhaustive.

v
International Standard ISO 20537:2025(en)
Footwear — Identification of defects during visual inspection
— Vocabulary
1  Scope
This document defines the most common terms related to defects that occur in the manufacture, storage
and usage of footwear and that can be determined during visual inspection of the
...