Most shoe recalls end in a refund. In our archive of 103 footwear recalls, 52 notices carry one of CPSC’s remedy labels: 42 of those offer a refund, 12 a replacement and 7 a repair. Every one of the 7 repairs is for ski or snowboard boots. The totals add up to more than 52 because 8 recalls offer two or three remedies at once.
What the three labels mean
CPSC tags each recall on its website with a remedy type and defines the terms on its recall listing:
- Refund: “A customer may receive a full or partial refund, or gift card for the recalled product.”
- Repair: “The company is offering a repair to the recalled product.”
- Replace: “The company is offering a replacement for the recalled product in the form of a new product or other products of similar value.”
The same page lists a few less common types. “Dispose” means the product should be thrown out or recycled, “New Instructions” means the firm will explain how to make the product safe, and “Remedy No Longer Available” covers recalls where nothing is offered any more.
Two details in those definitions matter for shoes. A refund can be partial or a gift card, not always cash. And a replacement can be a similar product, not necessarily the same model.
Which shoes get which remedy
We counted the remedy labels by shoe type for the 52 tagged recalls. A recall that offers both a refund and a replacement is counted in both columns.
| Shoe type | Refund | Replace | Repair |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandals | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Boots | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| Shoes | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Work boots | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| Heels | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Slippers | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Ski and snow boots | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Athletic | 2 | 0 | 0 |
The pattern follows how the shoes are built. A ski or snowboard boot has parts that can be swapped: screws, buckles, reels, heel cleats, sole inserts. The notices name them. SCARPA’s February 23, 2023 recall of F1 ski boots said the two screws holding the ski/walk mechanism “can loosen or fall out,” and owners could take the boots to a dealer to have the screws replaced or ask SCARPA to send the screws by mail with a video of the repair. Burton’s 2018 snowboard boot recall sent a free new heel cleat. Boa’s 2016 recall of snowboard boot reels offered a repair kit with replacement reels and a tool. Head’s April 9, 2026 recall did both: free replacement boots for one group, free replacement sole inserts “which can be installed by the consumer or by a ski shop” for another. You can browse them in our ski and snowboard boot recalls.
A sandal with a loose ornament or a heel that snaps has no such part to swap, and the notices for those offer money back. All 26 tagged children’s recalls include a refund, and 11 of the 13 tagged recalls involving women’s sizes do.
Work boots lean toward replacement. Five of the eight tagged work-boot recalls offer new boots, including Red Wing’s 2013 steel-toe boots and H.H. Brown’s 2024 Redeemer boots, which were replaced with pairs that had puncture-resistant soles.
The 51 notices without a label
The other 51 recalls in our archive have no remedy label in CPSC’s data. That is a record-keeping gap, not a lack of remedy. The first tagged footwear recall in our data is from October 27, 2010, and nearly all the untagged ones are older. Of the 51, 43 still describe a remedy in the notice text, often a refund or a free replacement. The other 8 are press-release records from before 2000 with no remedy text in the database. Our recall trends page shows how the mix changes over time.
What notices ask you to do
The remedy is only half of a notice. The other half is the list of steps. We searched the remedy text of the 95 notices that have it:
- 54 tell you to stop using or wearing the shoes.
- 40 tell you to take the shoes away from children.
- More than half send you back to a store, a dealer or the place you bought them.
- 12 mention a prepaid or postage-paid label, or free shipping, for returning by mail.
- 13 pay the refund, or offer it as an option, in store credit, a gift card, a voucher or a merchandise card.
- 6 say the firm is contacting known buyers directly.
A few notices ask for proof instead of the shoes. Clarks’ 2022 recall of women’s canvas shoes asked owners to “upload a photo of their shoes” so the firm could tell whether the pair was included. The 2026 recall of Raychy children’s light-up sneakers went further: the refund depended on owners disabling the pair themselves (cutting the tongue and marking both shoes “RECALLED”) and sending the firm a picture as proof. The full steps are on our Raychy sneaker recall page.
And sometimes there is nothing left to claim. The 2011 notice for Atico holiday rattle baby slippers now reads: “The firm is out of business, the remedy is no longer available, and the product should be discarded or destroyed.”
What the rules say a notice must contain
The detailed content rules are in 16 CFR part 1115, subpart C, which CPSC adopted in 2010. Section 1115.27 requires a recall notice to include, among other things, the word “recall,” a description that lets you identify the product (names, colors, sizes, model numbers, date codes and where the labels are), the approximate number of units, the hazard, the months and years of manufacture and sale, the price, a summary of incidents and injuries, and a description of each remedy. Paragraph (n)(2) asks for “All specific actions that a consumer must take to obtain each remedy,” and (n)(3) for contact details, including whether the number is toll-free and the hours with time zone.
There is a limit to know about. CPSC’s 2010 announcement says the rule sets requirements for mandatory recall notices, ordered by the Commission or a federal court, and “does not contain requirements for voluntary recall notices.” For voluntary recalls it serves as a guide. The agency’s Recall Handbook asks firms for much the same content in a voluntary recall news release, ending with “complete instructions for how to participate in the recall described in a manner that will motivate the consumer to take advantage of the remedy.” Section 1115.26 adds that “A direct recall notice is the most effective form of a recall notice,” which is why some notices say the firm is contacting buyers itself.
The choice of remedy is negotiated between the firm and CPSC staff. Under 16 CFR 1115.20, a firm’s corrective action plan “should indicate whether it is repairing or replacing the product or refunding its purchase price.” The handbook’s Fast Track program lets a firm skip CPSC’s formal hazard finding if it puts a satisfactory consumer-level recall in place within 20 working days of reporting.
Before you contact the firm
Have the details the notice asks for ready: the style or model number, the date code if the notice lists one, and where you bought the pair. Read which remedy is offered and whether it depends on returning the shoes, a photo, or a store visit. If you bought the pair through another retailer, check whether the notice sends you there instead. Khaite’s 2023 recall of high-heeled sandals did: buyers from third-party stores had to return the shoes to that store for a refund or store credit. Our guide on how to check a shoe recall walks through matching your pair to a notice, and the children’s recalls list gathers the kids’ notices in one place.