Crocs Backlash - Banned From Hospitals, Accidents On Escalators
Crocs are of course the ubiquitous rubber clog that seem to be in every mall in the country and do seem to be on everyone’s feet in starbucks. As with many super popular trends there are often detractors, often counter culture-ists who like to ridicule the fashion/trend victims who are following the trend. Ihatecrocs.com falls into the counter culture category and is also a lot of fun with videos of Crocs getting cut up and burnt, I of course found out about them because they have a t-shirt. I really like this fake ad as well:

But Crocs are getting some really bad publicity, ranging from a story on boingboing about a Swedish hospital banning Crocs, to a blog that is dedicated to documenting Crocs accidents with some horrific pictures. As it turns out Crocs rubbery texture makes them more susceptible to getting caught in escalators. This may be just a small niche right now, but if this turns out to be another blogstorm like the burning laptop, and the pictures are more dramatic, then Crocs will need to address this issue. Ihatecrocs.com is already the number 4 result on google for a search on the term “crocs”.


36 Comments, Comment or Ping
Tom
They are just plain ugly!! Just blech!
May 10th, 2007
Karl
Yeah, i’m not keen either, wouldn’t wear them.
May 10th, 2007
Mack Collier
ahmyeyes.com LMAO! Best URL ever….
May 11th, 2007
Judy
Best garden shoe ever. And, they really are comfortable.
I thought they were ridiculous at first, too.
Why you aren’t badmouthing the bad-for-your feet high heels with pointy toes? Get real for crying-out-loud.
Have you tried them? So wear them around your garden…no one asks you to go to dinner in them.
May 11th, 2007
Karl
I’m not badmouthing crocs, i’m just pointing out some serious brand backlash. I don’t care what people wear on their feet
Go crazy!
May 11th, 2007
Brenda
I have two pairs and find them to be very comfortable, and I like ugly.They are not as pricey as Keen or Birkenstock, which I think are ugly as well.
May 14th, 2007
Zahra
I think they’re ugly and they’ve taken over the world
May 15th, 2007
ukcowgirl
Crocs are great for people who are on their feet all day, day after day, year after year. What I don’t get, is why is there so much fuss about them? Surely sharia law would be a better thing to be discussing!
May 30th, 2007
jack
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Jul 19th, 2007
crocsrock4ev
i have every single color and kind they rock and they r not ugly they r combrotable and cute but expensive but i am rich so hoo cares
Jul 19th, 2007
Princess
I am a nurse and I spend 12-16hrs a day several days a weeks on my feet. A $15-$30/pair of crocs is wwwwaaaaaaaayyyyyyy more comfortable than the $150 dansko nursing shoes my co-workers wear. They have become a trend among nurses, and they look cute w/ scrubs, especially the different colors. I hope that my hospital does not ban them….nurses need there feet!!!!
Aug 27th, 2007
JoJo
Eat em up kiddies. My shares are soaring!
Sep 4th, 2007
Don
Many Croc wearers have suffered injuries from falling down.
It seems the Crocs “bite” rather than “slide” on hard surfaces causing a loss of balance.
Sep 4th, 2007
Phill
I was with a family with a 6 year old whose Croc was eaten by the top of an escalator. It ripped the whole front of the shoe off. I was able to grab the kid before her foot got jammed as well. The material is too soft and grippy on escalators. The shoe simply is too insubstantial for the saftey mechanisms to reliably register it as jamming the machinery.
Sep 4th, 2007
Ken Martin
Parents have a responsibility to teach their children how to act and behave. Crocs may be fine for play in and around the yard. But why would you let your children get on a piece of machinery with nothing protecting their feet except flimsy rubber material?
Sep 17th, 2007
Amy
I am a nurse and I have worn Crocs exclusively for just about 5 years. There are NO better shoes for people who have to stand (and run) for 12 hour shifts!! I have had arch support / foot problems since I was a child, and with Crocs, I have no foot pain at all! Try them, you will LOVE them!
Sep 17th, 2007
Rick_VT
I’ve ridden up and down between floors on escalators safely for over 50 years - the past two wearing Crocs (theys are so comfy!), and for years before with flip-flops on - never even a close call. But, I was taught from the beginning by my PARENTS how to safely get on, how to ride and how to get off those dangerous moving stairs - taught they could hurt you if not used correctly - taught to watch out for loose laces, to not fool around, to not stick your feet into the corners, etc. I have never had any problem at all. - Strangely enough, there are recent statistics showing more kids are getting hit by cars when crossing the street - this was believed to be because PARENTS aren’t teaching their precious protected offspring how to look both ways, to anticipate dangers around them. Hmmmm…something symptomatic happening here?
Sep 18th, 2007
Joanne
I have 4 pairs, clogs, and Mary Janes and the flip flops. I am on my feet all day every day as a hairdresser. I love them. somtimes my feet hurt, but if I was in a different shoe, I would not last as long as I do during the day on my feet. Crocs are cool, especially the little kids crocs. I have never seen a kid trip or fall because of Crocs. If a kid tripped or got stuck in an escalator, the mommy and daddy apparently let the kid get on without supervision, nor never taught the kid how to approach an escalator….I love my crocs…yes they are kinda ugly, but I like ugly shoes
Oct 7th, 2007
Morgan Webb
Hello…Man i just love your blog, keep the cool posts about Backlash - Banned From Hospitals, Accidents On Escalators at ExperienceCurve comin..holy Friday .
Nov 30th, 2007
spiningin
I finally succumbed to buying a pair because I work on my feet all day.
I loved them but noticed that they can stop you dead in your tracks if you are walking on any kind of smooth floor or happen to be a fast walker, like myself.
My mom tried my pair on and liked them, so i got her a pair for Christmas. She was turning to go to the other side of her kitchen, and the shoes stopped her dead in her tracks. She fell into the door frame, cut her forehead, and broke her nose! Some Christmas gift I got her!
Dec 29th, 2007
Feet Hurtin
For 4 years I have worn Crocs and have been able to stand 12-16 hrs without terrible leg and foot pain. Now I am in a hospital that has banned crocs and my feet are killing me.
Jan 10th, 2008
Feet Hurtin
For 4 years I have worn Crocs and have been able to stand 12-16 hrs without terrible leg and foot pain. Now I am in a hospital that has banned crocs and my feet are killing me.
Jan 10th, 2008
carolyn
I am a waitress, i have bad feet, my feet would hurt so bad with the very expensive shoes I would buy. I now wear crocs and am pain free
Mar 22nd, 2008
Eric
Crocs on grown men and decidedly GAY. They are cute on kids and women (sometimes). Uber stupid looking on grown men.
Jun 7th, 2008
E. Michael Martin
Eric, I doubt that crocs are gay.
I know many gay men that wouldn’t even touch them.
Find a better (more accurate) adjective and stop belittling entire groups of people.
Jun 16th, 2008
Sean
my son took a serious fall wearing crocs. we had to take him for xrays and right now one of his eyes is swollen shut. When I was telling the doctor in the ER ward about the incident, he said that he had treated four or five kids in the past two weeks with similiar incidents. Crocs are fine in the backyard, lounging, etc…but really dangerous when kids start running in them.
Jun 26th, 2008
NJPDMAN
I am a cop and on my feet all day so when I get home…CROCS are my choice! Fantastic little piece of rubber heaven for your feet. Awesome stock too….
Jul 18th, 2008
Holy Man
Crocs look like something my fat retarded cousin would wear to a family reunion while line-dancing to “Achey Breaky Heart” in his Goldberg t-shirt… Positively nauseating.
Aug 6th, 2008
random
crocs are great for work cause they are confy and your feet dont sweat, but thats the only time i wear them. there is a time and a place to wear them. all these ranting and raving about how crocs are stupid is just cause everyone else is jelous that some people dont give a shit what they wear on their feet. get over the croc fad america people are going to do as they please.
Aug 6th, 2008
Terasa Russell
My 11 year old daughter had a new pair of crocs the beginning of the summer holidays. She went out to play with her friends on monday morning. I have never herd her scream so loud in all her life she had tripped over taking out the side of her very pretty face and chin, not to mention the hole in her shoulder ,knee and leg. Which today is friday and we are still tending to her wounds. she had to start a new term at school looking like she has been in the boxing ring! Please dont let your child run in these things you would have thought at 11 she would not have tripped like this? So they must be very dangerous for the very young?
Sep 5th, 2008
Marty Henry
After purchasing several pair of Crocs I have discovered that I get horrific foot rashes from them, and would like to know whether anyone else has been getting the same reaction.
My Crocs are kept clean and I have always worn the Crocs exclusively with socks, yet each time I wear them, my feet break out in clusters of extremely itchy sub-derma blisters which erupt within 2-3 days. These blisters tend to cluster at points where the shoe rubber is in direct contact with each stockinged foot. I also get nearly the same allergic reaction, only somewhat more extreme, precisely where the metal Crocs logo button rests against my instep.
If I don’t wear the Crocs, I don’t get the reaction; in fact, I have no foot problems whatsoever. If I wear the Crocs for so much as a couple hours, the blister rash comes back, always in identical form.
Anyone else out there having a similar reaction?
Nov 10th, 2008
judi from buffalo grove
I love Crocs..I own 5 pairs…but its happen twice in 2 yrs ..Once in a store I was in a hurry..and my croc stuck to the floor as I was walking…I fell on my face hitting my chin, nose, and knee. Last week walking in a brisk pace in a movie hse lobby My croc stuck as I walked and I went flying onto the carpet..killed my knee.and jammed my hand as I crashed to the ground..first I went for my nose..At least it wasnt gushing It takes you by surprise…be very careful inside places..dont walk too fast!!!!!!!!!!
Mar 17th, 2009
JIm Westover
I know 2 people who have this problem with this identical rash.
I urge anyone with this problem to call Crocs.
my wife spoke of this issue of her and now we found that one of my friends I have not seen in 13 years mentioned the same thing?
they told my wife the RX or Diabetic version would most likey stop this problem?
if you need more info from me please email me
at jimwestpverphotography@gmail.com
Apr 17th, 2009
Tom Harkish
First of all, as the parent of four boys ages 1 to 4, Crocs are a lifesaver - there is nothing easier for getting shoes on feet, even our one year old puts on his own Crocs. That said, I am writing this today because my oldest almost lost his foot today. I was riding down the escalator at the local dept store, holding my son’s hand, when we let out a scream; looking down I was just in time to see his shoe get ripped off his foot, get sucked into the step of the escalator, and get spit out a few seconds later, all tore to pieces. Lucky for us they were ‘fake’ Crocs - cheap material that ripped apart without dragging him in with the shoe. I had never heard of this Croc danger - but now we know. And in the future, our boys will be riding the elevator or standing in the middle of the step on the escalator. One note - while waiting to talk with the manager - who kindly furnished us with a new set of Crocs - I chatted with the customer service lady from the store. Apparently, Croc-eating is a common occurrence with their escalators, so this is pretty serious stuff.
May 3rd, 2009
Serpico
You know.. there is an accident in my country (Indonesia), Jakarta.
there was a little girl (3-4 years old) who got her shoes (yes.. that ultimate fancy Crocs) stacked as she was walking down the escalator. She was being accompanied by her mother and a helper.. but it seemed they weren’t awared about the little girl..
the damn shoes stacked in the end of the escalator.. and she was crying so hard…..
The Mall is also super duper dumbass (Name’s Pacific Palace in Sudirman, Jakarta), they take TOO damn long to call the authorities who should be responsible for that.
the mother kept crying and praying.. while the helper was passed out already not being able to watch that scene.
and.. after some minuteS. using some crowbar and axe to break the escalator,, they finally saved the girl.. But,, her foot is needing very serious treatment.. poor little girl……. I don’t see crocs as a anything safe.
Jun 3rd, 2009
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