shoes, warning to all

The soles of my friend's Clarks sandals started to crumble away when we were shopping together. They were about 5 years old. There happened to be a Clarks shop nearby so she asked for help. They said she had worn them and kept them too long! They were only interested in selling her another pair. She refused and bought a cheap pair elsewhere to get her home. She wrote a formal complaint to Clarks but never got a reply.

My son said the chemical formula for the soles and/or adhesives may have been changed because of EU regulations. That has been the case with some of the glues they use in his workplace.

I usually buy Reiker shoes & sandals if I can and have never had any problems.

asdered.......... Fri 11-Jun-21??

how did you find this old thread from June 2021.

Any resin substance or rubber left for any time will eventually rot and decay. Think rubber bands.

I do not think this is an unusal thing to happen to a pair of shoes, or a plastic handbag, cushion foam or anything similar.

I'm sorry about your situation! I've never heard about anything like this. I have an obsession with shoes, so I have many pairs from Clarks in my collection. I quite like the quality they offer for the reasonable prices they charge. The fact that they only offered you a 10 pounds voucher is a joke, though. Cheers!

I sorted my shoes this week. I rarely wear sandals but I found two pairs which I didn’t actually wear last summer( they are a few years old). They seemed fine, but after a couple of hours wear, the soles disintegrated. Lots of mess to clear up. The other pair has sticky soles, so that’s two pairs in the bin, so I can’t wear a dress or skirt until I get some new ones. I have to say my feet are more comfortable in socks and trainers or proper shoes, they get too sweaty in sandals.

Thanks jusnoneed.

These are not one off cases but planned obsolescence. If people can be sent to the moon these problems could be easily overcome but the manufacturers chose to ignore because they cannot be held responsible. It needs people to bring it to their notice by public means which would have an effect on sales. I am not a techie but something like Twitter or Facebook.

Hubby was a shoe repairer for over 50 years, he always used to say wear your shoes regularly don't keep them for occasional use. After time the soles will disintegrate even if not worn. Also some of the materials used for soles were a problem for repair as nothing would stick to them. Goodness knows what they use to make these shoes.

K shoes were part of Clarks Liz46, they have both vanished from the manufacturing scene in the UK. Clarks is no longer a family owned business, shoes made in China.

If any sort of company made products that lasted forever, they would go out of business pretty quick. We live in a 'throw-away' society. The items I have had for over 20 years (Dyson DC01 for example), still work, clothes etc. are all OK but modern items only have something like a three year life. As for the reactions to the chemicals in the soles, perhaps it might be worth paying for an independant inquiry as the makers probably won't give you the truth.

If you're wondering why I have clothes over 20 years old, I've never earned big money and am presently on (UK) Carers allowance (£67.25/week) whilst caring for my old mum. For decades I used to make all my own clothes so hated paying shop prices and nowadays most of my clothes come from charity shops. I guess I'm one of those 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' type of gals.

Have never bought Hotter etc and rarely Clarks unless in the sale, so my shoes are random and usually inexpensive . I can’t think how @nd why this might happen.
Happily this has never happened to any of my shoes, and some are very old.

I agree with Silverdragon and Railman.
But, I would also mention that, on having spoken to other Clark's shoe wearers and found they had complaints about the same/similar happening and mention that I'd be happy to take this to the media if I didn't receive a reasonable response from them.
Reasonable being new shoes being sent out or/& a full refund & maybe a token offer to accompany their apologies!

This happened twice to me. One Clarkes pair and one Hotter pair. Niether pair of shoes were worn very much snd there was no warning of impending catastrophic failure. Both pairs were old outside any warranty.

I sorted out my shoes yesterday, some I haven’t worn for years, but also I just haven’t got rid of scruffy ones.

A pair of black Clark’s loafers that I wore for work ( I retired 8 years ago!) have both got big splits across the soles.

About 5 pairs will be outed, and make a bit of space bottom of wardrobe.

Just as Joysutty said

I think if you store shoes for a long time without wearing them they need to be put away from extreme heat or cold in a room without moisture or humidity. Not that easy.
Shoe boxes whether plastic or cardboard prevent air circulation and can cause moisture buildup. Best to use shoe trees ... the cedar ones .. as they keep the mould away .
Even newspapers stuffed into shoes will absorb the moisture.
Keeping shoes in a cupboard for a long time is detrimental. You need to expose them to fresh air.

I have completely the opposite situation! I bought a £13 pair of lightweight slip on trainer/pump type shoes from Tesco in August 2019. They are super comfy, look good and I’ve worn them almost every day for almost 2 years. They are indestructible! No sign of wear anywhere!

The issue could be that as in box for years like mine were were - then no air getting to the rubber sole. Who knows.

Two pairs of Hush Puppies and RBT sneakers just crumbled and fell apart mostly while I was wearing them.

I don't think I have ever had this problem with my shoes and, like many here, I mainly wear Clarks and Hotter. I keep some of them for years, too. The only pair of shoes that had a problem with the sole cracking was a a pair l had worn repeatedly over several years so really did not owe me anything.

Same thing with my Hotter shoes. Boxed and only opened 7 years later, never worn. The soles crumbles all over hallway carpet nearly ruined it. Emailed Hotter but got no reply after 3 months so just threw away. Disgusted so wont buy from them again. Buy my shoes from a specialist shop called Shiropody now. Think the rubber material used could be inferior.

This is very interesting. I had a pair of rarely worn hotter boots. Last year I started walking more so got them out. While walking the sole separated from the uppers and was flopping about. Had to hobble home. Just put them straight in the bin.

I've had it happen, the reason people are upset that it happens to shoes that are old are that probably like me they have shoes they save for occasions, maybe a comfy pair of black shoes for funerals, some smart ones to go out for a meal in, that sort of thing, I know I try and leave nice shoes unworn so I don't scruff them up, wearing them regularly, and I do seem to scruff shoes up. If I've spent on some nice ones for more formal or dress up occasions I don't want to spoil them: shoes may be expensive so you want to keep them nice. A pair might be 15 years old but only worn 60 times, but I might waer a pair of everyday scruffy shoes that many times in 3 months . I know when I cleared out my mum's shoes she had some really lovely ones, party shoes, holiday shoes, smart shoes, shoes to match outfits, all in beautiful condition but 3 sizes too small for me, 2 bigger than my daughter, one than sister in law. Some of them were old, she'd gone to few parties in get last few years. Bone of them the spongy sort. Even her every day shoes were good sole wise. But I have big wide feet and walk awkwardly so need comfy ones. When I need a pair for a funeral I don't want to have to go out and try and find a comfy inexpensive pair, or a cheap one off pair. Last funeral I went to I couldn't find a new pair anywhere and it was lockdown, (when I went away didn't know there would be a funeral

Sueki44

Didn’t Prince Philip still wear the shoes he was married in? Re- soled etc.

And Prince Charles wears an old Barbour type jacket for hedging and gardening. On Countryfile once, he ruefully said it was very old, didn’t know how many times it had been repaired etc.

Exactly! Probably cost far more than a new one, but I don’t suppose that’s a problem for the POW….

We ordered a reasonably expensive British made wool carpet at the end of April as a price increase was due at the beginning of May, We paid 50% deposit and were told it would be about two weeks before our local dealer got it and they would arrange fitting within a few days of receiving it. Six weeks later we are still waiting. My husband phoned the shop last week and was told that the carpet had been delayed in POLAND. what on earth is it doing in Poland?
We are mystified.