The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide Recall of the Week: Buster Brown & Co.’s clog children’s shoes

About 1.4 million Buster Brown & Co.’s clog children’s shoes are being recalled, reports the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. About 73,000 pairs of shoes were previously recalled in April 2009.

Manufactured in China and distributed by Brown Shoe Co. Inc., of St. Louis, Mo., and its affiliate Pagoda International Footwear Ltd., of Hong Kong, the shoes have decorative wheels that can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children, according to the commission.

The companies have received two reports of a decorative wheel detaching from the shoe. No injuries have been reported.

These shoes are a plastic molded EVA “water” clog and are designed to resemble a car. The shoes are red, brown, blue, yellow, and pink and most shoes bear the words “CARS,” “Transformers Animated,” or “Barbie.”

“Buster Brown & Co.™” is printed on the shoe inside at the heel, on a sewn-in tag inside the fleece-lined shoe, and on the original hang tag. The model or retail number can also be found on these tags.

The shoes were sold in children sizes five to 13 and youth sizes one to three.

Click here to read the retail numbers.

The shoes were sold at major retailers nationwide, including Bealls’, Famous Footwear, J.C. Penney, Meijer, Rack Room, Sears, Shoe Show, Target, and Wal-Mart from August 2007 through June 2009 for $10 to $25.

Customers should immediately take this product away from children and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund, the commission advises.

For additional information, contact Buster Brown & Co. toll-free at 888-869-1044 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT Monday through Friday and between 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, visit the firm’s website at www.busterbrownshoes.com, or send an e-mail to Busterandtige@brownshoe.com.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide Recall of the Week: Girls’ shoes from Nordstrom

About 31,000 girls’ shoes imported by Nordstrom, of Seattle, Wash., are being recalled because surface paint on the outer sole of the shoes contains excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Six styles are involved in the recall:

“Clarice-Fab” flats – bone colored with a bow.

“Eva-Fab” – bone colored T-strap sandals.

“Fern-Fab” – ankle strap sandals sold in bone, pink, white, blue polka-dot, or pink polka-dot.

 

“Lilly-Fab” – fuchsia gingham ballerina flats with a bow.

“Rita-Fab” – ankle strap dress shoes sold in ivory linen, pink linen, white linen, cafe satin, silver satin, or white satin.

 

“Vivi-Fab” – open-toe dress shoes in bone, white, green polka-dot, lavender polka-dot, or yellow polka-dot.

Manufactured in China, the shoes were sold in girls’ sizes 10 through big-kids 7. All shoes have an embossed “NORDSTROM” printed on the insole. Only the colors identified above are subject to the recall.
 
Nordstrom stores nationwide sold the shoes from September 2006 through February 2009 for about $35 to $45.

Consumers should take the recalled shoes away from children immediately and return them to any Nordstrom store for a full refund or exchange, the commission advises.

For additional information, call Nordstrom at 800-804-0806 between 7 a.m. and 1 a.m. ET, e-mail Nordstrom at contact@nordstrom.com, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.nordstrom.com.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide Recall of the Week: Children's flip flops by Alpargatas

About 210,000 children's flip flops are being recalled due to a violation of the lead in paint standard.

Manufactured by Alpargatas USA Inc. of New York, N.Y., the flip flops have decorative paint on the sole that can contain lead levels in excess of the federal standard, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Flip flops of the Havaianas brand containing decorative paint were sold under the following model names: Baby Estampas, Baby Pets, Kids Apple, Kids Fairy, Kids Flores, Kids Lighthouse, Kids Monsters, Kids Surf, Baby Letrinhas, Kids Sports, Kids Candies, Kids Fun, Kids Love, Kids Sereias, Kids Speed, Kids Lucky Bug, Kids Pets, Kids Rock, Kids Slim, Kids Wonder Woman, Kids Small Flowers, and Kids Tropical w/Kit.
 
Havaianas flip flops without decorative paint aren’t being recalled, according to the commission.

 Manufactured in Brazil, the flip flops were sold by department and specialty stores nationwide from November 2006 through February 2009 for about $15 to $24 a pair.

Consumers should immediately take the recalled flip flops away from children and return them to Alpargatas USA Inc. to receive a replacement. Call 888-289-5306 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the company’s Web site at www.havaianasus.com. You’ll find the recall at the bottom of the home page.

For more information on recent recalls, see www.recalls.gov.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

People love, hate their flip-flops

When New York Times blogger Tara Parker-Pope wrote a post on "Flip-Flops May Lead to Foot Pain," she received 200 comments on her blog Well from people who loved and hated their flip-flops.

In her post, Parker-Pope reported on research from Auburn University in Alabama that looked at the biomechanics of the flip-flop. The study determined that wearing thong-style flip-flops can result in sore feet, ankles, and legs.

In a follow-up post, "The Well Podcast: More About Flip-Flops," she interviewed Elizabeth Semmelhack, curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, about the history of flip-flops and other footware and why footwear inspires such passion.

Copyright 2008, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist