Timberland Children’s Boots

What went wrong

The notice saysThe logo stamped onto the children’s boot’s insoles contains excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard.

Federal law limits lead in children’s products to 100 parts per million in the material and 90 parts per million in paint and coatings. A recall like this one means testing found more than that. Lead is not visible, so you cannot sort affected pairs by look; match the style and color to the notice.

How to tell if your pair is affected

Product description in the noticeThis recall involves children’s Timberland 6" Classic Scuffproof boots. The boots are wheat-colored leather and were sold in toddler size 4 through junior size 7. Model and manufacturer/date code numbers included in this recall are listed below. The model and manufacturer date code numbers are printed below the size on a white tag inside the boots. Model Numbers Manufacturer/Date Codes 34772 6456 6556 6656 6756 6856 34872 34972

The notice gives no style numbers or barcodes, so you match on what it does give: the brand and style (Children’s Boots), the sizes (toddler size 4 through junior size 7), the sale period (June 2009 to October 2009), where it was sold (see “Sold at” above) and the “made in” label (Thailand). If a detail does not line up, the recall contact below can confirm.

What the notice tells you to do

RemedyConsumers should immediately take the recalled boots away from children and contact Timberland to receive free replacement insoles for the boots.

Recall contact, as printed in the notice: For additional information, contact Timberland at (800) 445-5545 between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.timberland.com

The recall is 16 years old, and the last pairs were sold about 17 years ago. Most original owners have moved on to bigger sizes; the pairs still around tend to sit in donation bags, consignment shops and online resale listings. The notice gives a phone number and a website for the firm; details that old may have changed, and the CPSC notice stays online as the record.

How this recall compares

• With about 4,300 units, this is the 63rd largest of the 95 footwear recalls in our archive that give a U.S. unit count. The median recall in the archive covers about 7,200 units, so this one is below typical size.
• 8 other footwear recalls in the archive cite the same kind of hazard (chemicals and lead), 5 of them in children’s footwear. The earliest in this group dates from 1999.
• The notice puts the sales window at about 5 months (June 2009 to October 2009), against a median of 7 months across recalls that state one. The recall came 2 months after the last sale date.
• The notice gives a price of $50 to $70. For boots in the archive the typical stated price is about $29, so this pair sat at the pricier end of its group.
• No incidents were reported before this recall. That is true of 36 of the 95 detailed notices in the archive: firms often recall after their own testing or a supplier finding, not after injuries.

Year, part, store and origin

• 2009 brought 9 footwear recalls in our archive, covering about 1,926,500 units in all. This was the 9th of the year by date and the 6th largest by units.
• The notice names the lead as the part that fails. 5 other footwear recalls in the archive name the same part in their hazard statement; the most recent is Otter MOMO Children’s Sandals (2022).
• Made in Thailand. 1 of the 91 notices in the archive that name a country list Thailand (1%).
• At the stated price, the 4,300 units come to roughly $260,000 of retail sales.

Against the other Timberland recall

Timberland also recalled Timberland PRO Direct Attach Steel Toe Boots on October 2, 2007. This recall came 26 months after it. It was the smaller of the two, 4,300 units against 193,000. The hazards differ: this one is a chemical or lead hazard, the other an impact or crush hazard. These sold for less, $50 to $70 against $90 to $115. They were on sale for a shorter time, about 5 months against 25 months.

Comparisons use the 103 footwear recalls in our archive, read from the CPSC recall database on October 20, 2026. See data and methods.