Chinese flip-flop burn courtesy Wal-Mart

[Kajsa]

I purchase some flip-flops from Wal-mart and my feet turned red and sort of tingly, but I figured that it was just because it was from the first flip flops of the year so my feet needed to get used to them. Well I have now had what appears to be a chemical burn for 11 days, (As of July 3rd) I really thought it would just go away on it's own. It is absolutely not going away.

This started on June 22nd and has just gotten worse basically. I have only worn those shoes 15 minutes here, half an hour there, hour there...and so on, NOT enough time to burn my feet like this! I apologize for you having to look at my feet, really... sorry!



More of the story here.

[Qbert]

Ouch. I found the following regarding this story on another website:

Wal-Mart asserts it received only ten complaints about skin irritation related to these flip flops out of seven million pairs sold. The company said in a press release reported upon by Dallas station KDFW on 11 September 2007 that: "Product safety is a top priority at Wal-Mart and we are taking this report very seriously. Of several million of this product sold, we have had only a few similar claims. Nonetheless, we are removing the product from our shelves for testing and are preventing our registers from selling them."

However, on 13 September 2007, a reporter in Tulsa told of finding a pair of the recalled flip-flops at a Wal-Mart in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Said the reporter: "When we went to the check-out, the computer couldn't scan the price, but the cashier, just trying to be helpful, over-rode the machine and sold them to us."

Stiles challenges Wal-Mart's claim of receiving only ten complaints about the brand of flip-flops that injured her, providing accounts (including photographs) on her web site of others similarly harmed.