Shoe recalls peaked in the 2000s: 40 in ten years, about 4.0 a year, against 54 since 2010, about 3.2 a year. The hazards shifted too, as the numbers below show.
103footwear recalls
7 momedian time on sale
78%recalled within 3 months of last sale
67%made in China
Recalls per year since 2000
20002
20014
20021
20030
20047
20053
20064
20078
20082
20099
20101
20117
20120
20138
20145
20154
20164
20175
20181
20193
20204
20211
20222
20232
20243
20251
20263
The busiest year was 2009 with 9 recalls. Years with no bar had no footwear recall in the CPSC database.
Hazards by decade
1990s9Falls 1 · Choking 5 · Chemicals and lead 1 · Cuts and scrapes 2
2000s38Falls 8 · Choking 19 · Chemicals and lead 3 · Cuts and scrapes 3 · Impact and crush 5
2010s37Falls 13 · Choking 13 · Chemicals and lead 1 · Cuts and scrapes 5 · Impact and crush 5
2020s16Falls 5 · Choking 5 · Chemicals and lead 4 · Impact and crush 2
10. Women’s Shoes200,000Wal-Mart · April 9, 2009 · Falls
Reading these numbers
A recall count measures how often firms and CPSC acted, not how often shoes fail. Large store-brand children’s lines produce big unit numbers because one style sells in many colors and sizes; a ski boot recall of 1,300 pairs can matter just as much to the people who own them. The archive also starts thin: notices before 2000 are mostly short press releases, so the decade comparison is most reliable from the 2000s on.
The choking group dominates the 2000s because of decorated children’s sandals and clogs; since 2010 the mix is more even, with more fall-hazard recalls in women’s and ski boots. The full list is in the archive; how we count is on data and methods.