Airwair Dr. Martens Vegan boots

What went wrong

The notice saysProlonged and direct contact with the boot tongue lining can expose the wearer to the chemical benzidine.

This is a material problem, not a construction problem: something in the upper, lining or leather tested above what the firm considered acceptable for skin contact. The notice names the substance. If you have worn the shoes and have a skin reaction, a doctor is the right person to ask; the recall notice itself does not give medical guidance beyond its warning.

How to tell if your pair is affected

Product description in the noticeThis recall involves Dr. Martens unisex Vegan 1460 eight eye boots sold in cherry red with black shoelaces in all sizes. The boots have a chunky sole and a golden heel pull tab with "AirWair" printed on it. "Made in Vietnam" and product code 14585 are printed on the tongue label with the batch code starting with "GV" and ending in Q, R or S.

Numbers named in the notice that you can match against the label, box or receipt:

• 14585

What the notice tells you to do

RemedyConsumers should immediately stop using the recalled boots and contact Dr. Martens for a full refund or free replacement product.

Recall contact, as printed in the notice: Dr. Martens at 800-460-3930 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, email at [email protected], or online at www.drmartens.com and click on "Product Recall" for more information.

The recall is 9 years old, and the last pairs were sold about 9 years ago. The notice gives a phone number, an email address and a website for the firm; contact details that old may no longer work, while the CPSC notice stays online as the record of the recall.

How this recall compares

• With about 30,000 units, this is the 33rd 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 well above typical size.
• 8 other footwear recalls in the archive cite the same kind of hazard (chemicals and lead), 1 of them in adult / unisex footwear. The earliest in this group dates from 1999.
• The notice puts the sales window at about 31 months (January 2015 to July 2017), against a median of 7 months across recalls that state one. The recall came 1 month after the last sale date.
• The notice gives a price of $125. 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

• 2017 brought 5 footwear recalls in our archive, covering about 83,400 units in all. This was the 3rd of the year by date and the 2nd largest by units.
• The notice names the dye or chemical as the part that fails. 1 other footwear recall in the archive names the same part in its hazard statement; the most recent is Breeze Ave, Breeze Shore and Breeze Step women’s shoes in navy colors (2022).
• Sold at Amazon. 4 other footwear recalls in the archive also list Amazon as a seller; the most recent is Raychy Children’s Light Sneakers Unisex (2026).
• Made in Vietnam. 6 of the 91 notices in the archive that name a country list Vietnam (7%).
• At the stated price, the 30,000 units come to roughly $3.8 million of retail sales.

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