Payless ShoeSource Smart Fit™ and Teeny Toes™ Athletic Shoes

What went wrong

The notice saysThe metal eyelet lace holder at the top of the shoe can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.

Here the loose piece is a working part of the shoe, not an add-on decoration. Fasteners such as snaps, rivets, zipper tabs and tags are pressed or sewn in at the factory, and when that attachment is weak they can work free with ordinary flexing. Because the part looks like it belongs there, parents rarely think to test it; a firm pull with your fingers is the quickest check.

How to tell if your pair is affected

Product description in the noticeThese are children’s athletic shoes in prewalk and toddler sizes. The shoes are white with different color trim and come in sizes 0 to 10. The brand name "Smart Fit" or "Teeny Toes" is written on the sole and insole of the shoes. The recalled shoes have one of the following five-digit numbers, found on a label on the bottom of the shoe tongue: 31056, 31057, 31219, 32264, 32265, 33060 and 33061. No other styles or models are included in this recall.

The notice gives no style numbers or barcodes, so you match on what it does give: the brand and style (Smart Fit™ and Teeny Toes™ Athletic Shoes), the sizes (sizes 0 to 10), the sale period (December 2003 to April 2004), the store (Payless) and the “made in” label (China). If a detail does not line up, the recall contact below can confirm.

What the notice tells you to do

RemedyConsumers should take the recalled shoes away from young children immediately and should return the shoes to a Payless ShoeSource store for a cash refund or exchange.

Recall contact, as printed in the notice: For more information, call Payless toll-free at 1-877-452-7500 between 7:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT Monday through Saturday, and between 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, or visit their website at www.payless.com

The recall is 22 years old, and the last pairs were sold about 22 years ago. Children outgrow shoes fast, so pairs like these now turn up mainly as hand-me-downs or in resale, where the recall still applies. 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 441,000 units, this is the 4th 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.
• 41 other footwear recalls in the archive cite the same kind of hazard (choking), 41 of them in children’s footwear. The earliest in this group dates from 1993.
• The notice puts the sales window at about 5 months (December 2003 to April 2004), 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 $10. For sneakers and athletic shoes in the archive the typical stated price is about $38, so this pair sat at the cheaper end of its group.
• The notice cites 1 report before the recall. 36 of the 95 detailed notices in the archive cite no incidents at all.

Year, part, store and origin

• 2004 brought 7 footwear recalls in our archive, covering about 1,995,400 units in all. This was the 1st of the year by date and the 2nd largest by units.
• The notice names the eyelet or lace hook as the part that fails. 2 other footwear recalls in the archive name the same part in their hazard statement; the most recent is The North Face Women’s Shellista V Mid Waterproof Boots (2025).
• Sold at Payless. 2 other footwear recalls in the archive also list Payless as a seller; the most recent is Girls' Boots (2007).
• Made in China. 61 of the 91 notices in the archive that name a country list China (67%).
• 1 report on about 441,000 units works out to roughly 0.2 reports per 100,000 units. The median across the 55 recalls that give both figures is 16, so this recall drew fewer reports per pair than most.
• At the stated price, the 441,000 units come to roughly $4.4 million of retail sales, one of the ten largest recalls in the archive.

Against the other Payless ShoeSource recall

Payless ShoeSource also recalled Children’s Airwalk® Compel Shoes on May 2, 2007. This recall came 35 months before it. It was the smaller of the two, 441,000 units against 690,000. Both are choking recalls, but here the eyelet or lace hook fails, there the rivet or stud. These sold for less, $10 against $115 to $130. They were on sale longer, about 5 months against 3 months.

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