Tales of Croc-chewing escalators spread alarm

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Tales of Croc-chewing escalators spread alarm

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-crocs20sep20,1,1118635.story?

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By Earnest, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Is the Crocs scare a crock?

The super-popular, brightly colored clog-style shoes are being

identified on the Internet and in news reports as so dangerous on

escalators that some parents apparently won't let their children

wear them anymore.

Although the injury reports are worrying, the focus on Crocs may be

deflecting attention from an array of soft shoes that moving

stairways like to grab. Sandals and flip-flops, for example, are

most commonly snared by escalators in Washington Metropolitan Area

Transit Authority subway stations, which have more escalators than

any other U.S. transit system, the authority's Lacosse said.

" Crocs, " he said, are " getting a raw deal. "

Crocs Inc. agrees and statistics from the Consumer Product Safety

Commission support the company. The agency said that of the 53

reports in its files over a five-year period about escalator-

footwear tangles, Crocs were named in four, with one resulting in an

injury.

Crocs over the years have been blamed for various transgressions,

from creating static electricity that can disrupt hospital machines

(apparently nurses love the shoes) to being unnecessarily ugly.

The company said it knew of no reason that its shoes would be any

more susceptible to static electricity than sneakers or other types

of footwear that medical professionals favor.

Crocs' popularity may be part of the problem. The Boulder, Colo.,

company that has sold about 50 million pairs of Crocs since they hit

the market in Nov. 2002 called the shoes " completely safe. " The fact

that Crocs scooped up 5.2% of the industry's " lifestyle casual "

market has " struck and surprised " other footwear executives, said

Bill Boettge, president of the National Shoe Retailers Assn.

Crocs' sales jumped to $354.7 million last year from $108.6 million

in 2005. In the first six months of this year, sales hit $366.3

million.

The company has expanded its product line, with even a limited line

of clothing. Celebrity chef Batali, who owns dozens of Crocs,

mainly orange, has teamed with the company to produce his signature

Bistro model, which will be available this fall, according to his

website.

Knockoffs of the rubbery molded shoes are everywhere, and some of

them also are getting stuck in escalators.

" The popularity of our shoes has helped draw attention to a long-

existing issue that we think is very important -- escalator safety, "

Crocs spokeswoman Tia Mattson said in an e-mail.

The statistics don't matter much if you've watched an escalator gnaw

on your child's shoe.

am Banikarim, chief marketing officer for Univision

Communications Inc., was on an airport escalator with her 7-year-old

son Lerner on Labor Day when he " started screaming bloody

murder. "

" The side of the escalator is sucking up his shoe and foot at the

same time, " she said. " It was terrifying. " His foot required 10

stitches.

" Shoe entrapments " at the Washington subway system occurred, on

average, four or five times a week during the summer and have

included a wide range of footwear -- even galoshes and stiletto

heels -- but have resulted in no serious injuries, Lacosse said.

They involved " flip-flops, sandals, sneakers and, of course, a few

Crocs, " he said.

Soft-soled shoes can get stuck between the moving steps and the

stationary side panel or at the " comb plate, " a section at the top

or bottom of the escalator that looks like " alligator teeth, "

Lacosse said.

The transit system has posted warnings that include a picture of an

alligator (not, Lacosse pointed out, a crocodile). " We're trying to

avoid the Crocs issue altogether, " he said.

American Girl Place stores posted safety warnings suggesting that

parents take the elevator if they or their children are

wearing " Crocs, flip-flops or similar footwear. " The signs were

posted after " a few minor incidents involving Crocs and other soft

shoes, " spokeswoman Parks said.

Crocs have been the culprit in most of the seven shoe vs. escalator

incidents at Atlanta's Hartsfield- International Airport

since May 1, according to Roy Springer, operations manager for the

company that runs parts of the airport. In one case, a 3-year-old

boy wearing Crocs had to be hospitalized after suffering a deep gash

along the top of his toes, he said.

There's no safer transportation than an escalator, according to a

spokeswoman for the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation, a

nonprofit organization in Alabama. But you still need to be careful

when riding them.

" The fact is, " she said, " they are complex pieces of equipment with

moving parts. "