Attention shoe enthusiasts.
If you have more shoes than you can wear them at regular intervals, you may be in for a nasty surprise.
As attested in the complaints lodged with the Consumer Council, the soles of the shoes in your beloved collection of footwear may just drop off or break into pieces one day without any tell-tale signs of deterioration.
And, according to the complainants, these shoes have rarely been worn (only a few times) and furthermore they have been left in store for a long period of immobility (over 1 year).
In the past two years, the Consumer Council has received a total of 304 complaints related to shoes of all kinds - leather shoes, boots, sandals, sport shoes, high-heel shoes, slippers, clogs, embroidery shoes, and even industrial safety shoes.
Amongst them, leather shoes drew the most complaints (119), followed by sandals (32), boots (29), sport shoes (20), and high-heels (20).
The shoes could be a humble $30 to a conspicuous $4,795 in price. They might be bought for a few days, or worn for a few times, or even brand new.
The majority (196) of the complaint were about defects and quality problems. Topping the list of such complaints was precisely the problem of fallen soles (32) and soles broken into pieces (19).
Experts have concurred that the problem with shoe soles was not necessarily related to the length of time the shoes were bought, or the purchase price, nor the number of times the shoes were worn.
They were of the opinion that the problem had more to do with the product quality, length of storage time and environmental conditions.
Here are some tips to help you make your shoes more durable: (1) place them in a cool, neither too dry nor too humid place, such as inside an airtight plastic bag, and (2) do not store the shoes for a long time before the next wear.
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