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

[doce]

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!

^www.wired.com/2015/05/sneakers/^

This is quite a good article on the phenomenon .

I had a pair of Clarks shoes that had a little decorative button holding the T bar on, it came off after about 2 to 3 years, Clarks payed for them to be fixed! I was very impressed.

I buy clarkes shoes for my kids and always find them very good. But i was at a wedding recently and i wore a pair of heels (clarkes) that i last wore about ten years ago. They disintegrated before my eyes over a period of about 30 minutes. i was just sitting, not dancing or anything and they just fell apart, it was very weird. Luckily i had a pair of flats in the car to change into.

I don't rate Clarks but have never had this happen to a pair of shoes. Ds has wide feet and the closest independent shoe shop is 120 miles away so often Clarks are the only option but I only buy in sales now because the quality is rubbish. They peel or the sole start separating i really don't get the Clarks religious following the shoes are overpriced rubbish. On the occasion I manage to get ds shoes elsewhere they always last much longer.

Seems pretty obvious from this thread that
A) it does sometimes randomly happen to shoes that have been unworn for years
B) it happens to shoes from a wide variety of manufacturers and there is something suspect about the OP's witch hunt against Clarks in particular

Having googled this phenomenon I can clearly see that it isn't just Clarks and it appears to happen to the cheaper shoes that have soles that resemble Crocs, so I am not worried at all as the shoes I buy have proper soles, hence why this story did at first look like bullshit, BUT it isn't just Clarks, any shoes with cheap soles....