Wal-Mart Doesn't Recall Flip-Flops, Woman Recalls Not Being In Pain

You may recall the case of Taylor Vanover, the woman whose cheap Chinese-made flip flops burned her feet. It seemed like an isolated case at the time.

Meet the feet of Kerry Styles, but be warned... we're talking about CSI-quality rash photograpy.

In the meantime... the rash keeps spreading.

And spreading.

Yes, Wal-Mart is taking the offending footwear off their shelves. You'd like to think they'd have the decency to 'fess up and announce a recall, wouldn't you?

Nah. This is, after all, Wal-Mart.

So, what's Wal-Mart's response? And curse you, Fox News, for making me quote you...

"The company is also testing the Sand-N-Sun flip-flops and may continue to sell the line of shoes in the future once they find out more about the causes of the chemical burns. “Of the seven million sold, there were 10 cases of people having a reaction with them,” said [Wal-Mart spokesman John] Simley. “We have to know what we’re dealing with first. Clearly, seven million people were OK wearing them.”

In general, Silverberg said, flip-flops are usually not an issue because of the small area of skin being exposed to the shoe, and those who are allergic will notice a reaction within a couple of hours."

For flip-flop wearers who do have a chemical reaction to their shoes or any other synthetic shoe that is rubber based, Silverberg recommends that they visit a dermatologist to get a prescription for a topical cream like hydrocortisone and get a contact allergy test — a patch test where the doctor places pieces of allergens on a patient’s back to find their specific allergy."

To summarize Wal-Mart's response:

-If it's good enough that only a few people suffer horrifying lesions, then it's good enough. Period.

-We won't admit there's a problem until it gets much larger.

-This whole thing doesn't warrant an actual recall, just pulling current stock off the shelves... maybe until it's all forgotten. The next Summer Fashion season is only nine months away, after all...

-Since flip-flops only contact a small part of your skin, it's not like it's etching your whole face off or anything. Jeez.

-If a large corporation drains jobs away from your country by replacing locally-made products with mass-produced toxic crap from a dollar-fifty-a-day-wages overseas slave pit, and those products make you skin burn and peel... consult a physician.

Wal-Mart: Always Low Standards?