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Those Colorful Clogs
Are Crocs Worth the Risk?
By Lisa A. Goldstein
The footwear phenomenon of the year has been served a reality check. The ubiquitous shoes that you probably consider fun and comfortable may not be as practical as you think. Reports are now surfacing around the world of serious injuries, all linked by one thing: the plastic clogs worn by babies, toddlers, preschoolers, kids and adults popularly known as Crocs®.
The main culprit? Escalators. Children are getting their Crocs stuck in these moving stairways, resulting in major toe injuries. These include having toes and/or nails ripped off.
A consumer safety group in Japan called the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation reported 40 incidents in which people, mostly children, had Crocs stuck on escalators from late August until early September.
It's happening all over the United States, too, such as at the Atlanta airport, where a 3-year-old boy wearing these rubber shoes suffered a deep gash across the top of his toes in June. That was one of seven shoe entrapments at the airport since May 1, and all but two of them involved Crocs, according to the operations manager for the company that runs the airport terminal. One of the nation's largest subway systems – the Washington Metro – has even posted ads warning riders about wearing such shoes on its escalators.
The company markets the shoes as slip-resistant and versatile. They also mold to your feet. Apparently some of the Crocs' best-selling features are what cause entrapments.
The Associated Press says that people have reported shoes getting caught in the "teeth" at the bottom or top of the escalator, or in the crack between the steps and the side of the escalator. The reports of serious injuries have all involved young children.
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