Payless ShoeSource Toddler Clog Shoes

What went wrong

The notice saysPlastic rivets used to attach the strap to the shoe can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.

This was the second time in 2 months that Payless ShoeSource recalled footwear for a choking hazard; the first was Children’s Airwalk® Compel Shoes on May 2, 2007. Both notices name the rivet or stud as the part that fails. The notices are separate, each with its own description and dates, so check every pair you own against its own notice, including pairs handed down between siblings.

How to tell if your pair is affected

Product description in the noticeThis recall involves the following character-themed clog styles: Dora the Explorer, Spongebob Squarepants, Hello Kitty, Coasters® Lighted Car Compel, and Cambridge Mary-Jane. The shoes were sold in toddler sizes 5 through 10. The flexible shoes have air ventilation holes on the top and/or side, and plastic rivets attached to the strap. Shoe sizes are printed on the sole of the shoe. No other sizes, styles or models are included in the recall.

The notice gives no style numbers or barcodes, so you match on what it does give: the brand and style (Toddler Clog Shoes), the sizes (toddler sizes 5 through 10), the sale period (January 2006 to June 2007), 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 shoes away from young children immediately and return them to the store where purchased for a refund or exchange.

Recall contact, as printed in the notice: For additional information, call Payless at (800) 654-0697 between 7:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday. Consumers can also visit the firm’s Web site at www.payless.com

The recall is 19 years old, and the last pairs were sold about 19 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 270,000 units, this is the 6th 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 18 months (January 2006 to June 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 $15 to $20. For sandals, clogs and flip-flops in the archive the typical stated price is about $24, so this pair sat at the cheaper end of its group.

Year, part, store and origin

• 2007 brought 8 footwear recalls in our archive, covering about 1,262,600 units in all. This was the 4th of the year by date and the 2nd largest by units.
• The notice names the rivet or stud as the part that fails. 5 other footwear recalls in the archive name the same part in their hazard statement; the most recent is Birkenstock Kids' Mogami Sandals Sizes 24-28 (2021).
• 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%).
• At the stated price, the 270,000 units come to roughly $4.7 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 2 months after it. It was the smaller of the two, 270,000 units against 690,000. Both notices give the same kind of failure (the rivet or stud), so treat a pair from either line the same way. These sold for less, $15 to $20 against $115 to $130. They were on sale longer, about 18 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.