Timberland PRO Direct Attach Steel Toe Boots

What went wrong

The notice saysThe boots could fail to provide the intended protection against compression and impact, posing the risk of a foot injury to consumers.

Safety-toe and metatarsal-guard boots are sold to meet impact and compression ratings. When a recall says the protection may fail, it means the boot may not hold up to the force the label promises. Employers who require protective footwear generally expect it to meet the rating printed in the boot, so check with your safety officer about a replacement.

How to tell if your pair is affected

Product description in the noticeThis recall involves the Timberland PRO Direct Attach Steel Toe Boots with model numbers 26002 (wheat nubuck leather), 65016 (wheat nubuck leather), 26038 (black full-grain leather), and 38021 (brown oiled full-grain leather). The model number is printed on a green loop tag on the inside of the boot, just below the size. The boots have a four digit date code ending in 35 and beginning with the numbers 25 through 45 (e.g. 2535, 2635.4535) which can also be found on the loop tag below the model number. Direct Attach Steel Toe boots made in China are not subject to this recall.

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

• 26002

What the notice tells you to do

RemedyConsumers should stop wearing the recalled boots immediately and contact The Timberland Company to receive a free replacement pair of boots.

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

The recall is 19 years old, and the last pairs were sold about 19 years ago. The notice gives a phone number 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 193,000 units, this is the 11th 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.
• 11 other footwear recalls in the archive cite the same kind of hazard (impact and crush), 4 of them in adult / unisex footwear. The earliest in this group dates from 2004.
• The notice puts the sales window at about 25 months (September 2005 to September 2007), 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 $90 to $115. For work and safety boots in the archive the typical stated price is about $110, so this pair sat near the middle 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

• 2007 brought 8 footwear recalls in our archive, covering about 1,262,600 units in all. This was the 7th of the year by date and the 3rd largest by units.
• Made in Dominican Republic. 1 of the 91 notices in the archive that name a country list Dominican Republic (1%).
• At the stated price, the 193,000 units come to roughly $20 million of retail sales.

Against the other Timberland recall

Timberland also recalled Children’s Boots on December 16, 2009. This recall came 26 months before it. It covered about 44.9 times as many units (193,000 against 4,300). The hazards differ: this one is an impact or crush hazard, the other a chemical or lead hazard. These sold for more, $90 to $115 against $50 to $70. They were on sale longer, about 25 months against 5 months.

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