The footwear sector's value chain is very complex, from design, manufacturing and delivery to the consumer. The accelerated production/consumption model of this industry has resulted in a big sustainability crisis within the sector. Shoes are multi material products and Circular strategies such as reuse or recycling are very difficult to implement. The concept has been widely discussed in the sector and it can be enhanced when products are designed for a local context, in connected networks as proposed by the Distributed Economy. Thus, this paper brings a critical perspective on Technology-driven Design, based on a case study conducted in a small company in the footwear sector, locally based in the south of Brazil, with original design and small-scale production. The goal was to understand how strategic decisions are made through the shoemaking process and what are the main drivers that conduct the projects. The results obtained by the study can serve as a recommendation and stimulus for new ideas, introducing the possibility of a new relationship between companies in the footwear sector and their resource flows in a local base.