Quarter of leisure shoes fail quality tests

Over a quarter of casual shoes tested by Shanghai Consumer Council were found to have quality problems. 

The council tested 40 samples of casual shoes bought from big department stores that cost from 139 yuan (US$21.40) to 1,900 yuan.

Eleven of them had poor performance in peeling strength, bending endurance, and resistance to abrasion, the council said.

Five samples — from Nike, UIN, Skechers, Boss Sunwen, and Onitsuka Tiger — failed for peeling strength. Shoes with low peeling strength will literally come unstuck, officials said.

Seven samples of shoes — from MGG, 825ING, Skap, Caterpillar, Peace Bird, Boss Sunwen and J.Benato — failed a bending endurance test.

Bending endurance is a pointer to how long shoes will last and whether degumming and cracking are likely. China’s standard on shoes states that degumming and cracking should not happen after shoes are bent 40,000 times. These seven shoe samples failed the test.

In addition, a men's shoe branded Boss Sunwen was found to have poor performance in wearability, which could lead to ankle sprain. The brand's price was 1,580 yuan a pair.

All shoes tested passed for color fastness and formaldehyde.

Officials advise not washing leisure shoes with too much water, but to use gauze or cotton with a little warm water, officials. Yellow stains can be removed with soda water, lemon juice, and toothpaste.