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Original poster

...to expect brand new Clarks shoes not to disintegrate if just left in the wardrobe?

81 replies

doce · 21/05/2017 09:53

This little video ( ) shows 13 pairs of brand new or little used Clarks shoes after they'd been in the wardrobe for a while, unworn - an incredible scene of unaided, rotting, disintegrating shoes.

Worse still, Clarks across the world are washing their hands of the problem, offering trifling amounts of compensation (just a few pounds) if they're really pushed, and hoping people will forget about the problem.

Clarks are cheaply made imported shoes (UK manufacturing ceased long ago) sold at high prices to people who trust the name - in reality you can't trust the name (or the shoes) at all, because in the event of a problem like this they just don't want to know.

Check your cupboards and wardrobes (and your partner's) - those nice new shoes you put away for later are probably rotting in their box!

OP posts:
sodabreadjam · 21/05/2017 10:55

I have had numerous pairs of Clark's shoes over the years and still have around five. Never had any problems.

I have sandals that are put away for eight months of the year - come out looking fine.

Never had a pair fall apart.

Would love to know what climate these people with disintegrating shoes live in. Not the UK, I suspect.

Original poster
doce · 21/05/2017 10:56

As to the meaning of hydrolysis - it's a drying process. It doesn't involve the shoes being kept in a wet or damp place. Here's what Clarks themselves have to say:

"Thank you for the requested information. We can absolutely tell that you have taken great care of your Clarks shoes. Your shoes are one of our older styles. Therefore, the issues you are experiencing with them are attributed to their age and an inevitable chemical process of rubber called hydrolysis. This means that over time rubber unfortunately dries out and disintegrates naturally, especially if they have not had much wear."

OP posts:
lionsleepstonight · 21/05/2017 10:57

I'll be honest, I've never heard of this happening either. I wouldn't take those videos at face value though, not just because I have not had it happen to me, just that I don't know how those shoes have been stored or what may have been done to them in order to set off the reaction.
It's not really evidence of Clarke's washing their hands of the problem though is It?
It's a bunch of random shoes with something odd happening to them.

lionsleepstonight · 21/05/2017 10:59

Old shoes go off? Hardly newsworthy.

OhDearToby · 21/05/2017 11:00

Oh come on, that are so obviously cut with scissors!

I've got numerous pairs of Clarks shoes that have sat in the cupboard for 6 years waiting for dd2 to be big enough to fit them. I also work (for years and years) in the shop that sells Clarks. Never had a return a with these problems.

Maudlinmaud · 21/05/2017 11:01

Interesting that Clarks say it happens to older shoes. How old is old? Like I said previously I have an 8 year old pair with plenty of life left in them yet. So I assume older than 8 years.

Oakmaiden · 21/05/2017 11:14

after they'd been in the wardrobe for a while

How long is a while? Weeks? Months? Years?

A couple of pairs in the video are clearly well worn. And Clarks have said "yes, it happens when shoes get old". Do you expect them to last forever?

Elphame · 21/05/2017 11:15

Certainly happens in the UK - I was walking with my OH when I noticed he was leaving a trail of crumbs behind him. Close inspection of the soles of his shoes showed that one was falling to pieces before our eyes! Sadly I never thought to video it for YouTube at the time.

Fanciedachange17 · 21/05/2017 11:18

Had a pair of Clarks school shoes which came apart after a couple of months. Went back to the shop where they happily replaced them free of charge. All our school shoes come from there although when getting feet measured there is sometimes a discrepancy between Clarks and Jones (which also do a range of Clarks shoes).

Just sent a pair of 10 year shoes from Hobbs to the shoe heaven in the sky (sob). I loved them but no longer waterproof as so worn underneath.

9GreenBottles · 21/05/2017 11:28

branleuse the shoes I had which disintegrated (not Clarks) were stored in a plastic box, my partner's mother's shoes were stored in the shoe boxes they came in.
sodabreadjam happened to me in the North East of England.

thecolonelbumminganugget · 21/05/2017 11:28

Any chance this you tube video is made by you OP?

What Clarks are saying is that rubber dries out time. Anyone who has ever left a rubber band in a desk drawer for a few years will know this. What doesn't happen is that whole sections of shoe disappear from the face of the earth as if cut up by someone with too much time on their hands and access to you tube.

WiltingTulip · 21/05/2017 11:32

Interestingly I pulled out a pair of clarks originals and a pair of camper boots recently, both expensive and worn only a couple of times - look new, and the camper soles had crumbled and the Clarks rubber soles had dried and come off the shoes.

starsorwater · 21/05/2017 12:27

Mine did exactly the same- 'best' shoes that I rarely wore crumbled at a conference. Also dcs first shoes, put away to keep in memory boxes, crumbled just like that.

starsorwater · 21/05/2017 12:30

doce You are absolutely right. Mine did exactly the same- 'best' shoes that I rarely wore crumbled at a conference. Also dcs first shoes, put away to keep in memory boxes, crumbled just like that. I was so sad about the baby shoes. They didn't have much wear.

user1471456357 · 21/05/2017 12:35

When my daughter was a child I liked start rite shoes, I never rated Clarke.

user1471456357 · 21/05/2017 12:36

Oops, Clarks.

ShatnersBassoon · 21/05/2017 12:38

For this to happen so many times to one person as in the op's video, it would be an incredibly common problem that everyone would know about. A lot of those shoes look to have been carefully and deliberately damaged, not as if parts of them have slowly perished. I've owned dozens of pairs of Clarks shoes, and this hasn't happened to any of them.

The only time I've had rubber perish on a shoe was a pair of Berghaus walking boots that were about 15 years old and must have been a bit damp when put away.

Spikeyball · 21/05/2017 12:41

Dh had some where the heels disintegrated at a funeral. About 10 years old, worn for the first time in 3 years. I found a 'sticky' pair of sandals that had not been worn for about 8 years. I've got others nearly 20 years old that are fine.

WhatALoadOfOldBollocks · 21/05/2017 12:44

I had a pair of Aquacats riding boots that did that! They'd not been worn for a few years and I had no idea that being in storage would do that to them. The soles went gooey and just fell apart and there was no way to repair them. Great boots they were and unfortunately they aren't made any more so I can't replace them Sad

Emphasise · 21/05/2017 12:44

So rubber perishes over time? That's not unique to Clarks. The only time I've seen it was on a pair of Army issue boots

Dawndonnaagain · 21/05/2017 13:04

I am currently wearing my umpteenth pair of Clarks shoes. I dragged them out from their box under the bed about a fortnight ago. Date on receipt said 2015. I do this all the time and have never had a problem.

Haffiana · 21/05/2017 13:14

Still have a few pairs from various weddings 18 years ago. It has not happened to mine.

I smell a corrupt campaign against Clarks. Since we have
a/ various dubious Youtube posts by one person
b/ MN posters saying it hasn't happened to them

I know which I believe...

QuinionsRainbow · 21/05/2017 14:14

We had a similar problem. DH had a pair of Clarke's Nature Trek in the wardrobe for 5 or more years while their predecessors dutifully failed to wear themselves out. Cue Doomsday, the old shoes were finally consigned to re-cycling and DH went to the bottom of his wardrobe to get the new ones into circulation - the stitching around the welts had nothing to hold onto any more as the soles had just crumbled away to green power.

Original poster
doce · 21/05/2017 14:18

Believe what you like, Haffiana. Your prerogative. But:

a/ The posts (including the YouTube videos) are made not by one person but by large numbers of people. Are they all lying?

b/ There are several MN posters saying it HAS happened to them. Are they lying too?

Perhaps you're just too easily fooled by the Clarks advertising campaigns?

OP posts:
FubbyChucker · 21/05/2017 14:25

I've been buying Clarks shoes / sandals for years ( myself & children), I've never had a problem.