Hi all I’m always in and out of this forum and sure I have posted a few times. So hello to all and will be hopefully adding my 2 cents to anything discussed.
Regarding mould costs for TPU etc, It is an expensive part of the footwear process as pointed out by many already. Using TPU outsoles for football I have worked on costs around 8-10K so is very costly. Using moulds like the Adidas F50 where the counter is incorporated adds a lot more to this due to having further sections that have to move etc to remove a more ‘3D’ unit.
Pebax is quite a brilliant product that is a more advanced TPU but cost a third or so more
Tom