New Balance has issued a statement to say they‘re taking back and halting the sale of one of the styles from the 990 series. Are they hoping to avoid the same fate as Swatch?

It is hard to sell freely in Malaysia, as another brand found out. New Balance recently announced that they were recalling the U990TA4 running shoe, and halting its sale after admitting to providing “inaccurate information” to shoppers. Kicks of the 990 series are partly made with swine hide uppers. According to the New Balance website, the recalled U990TA4 comprises “pig skin leather and mesh”. It is, therefore, understandable that the brand has to state that clearly in their visual merchandising. If this was, however, an honest “lapse in communication”, as New Balance calls it, why did they need to take the drastic step of “ceasing” the sale of the particular shoe?

As stated in their statement shared by the media online, it was “after a thorough investigation” that New Balance Malaysia “can confirm that a small part of the shoe contains pigskin material”. It is inconceivable that they didn’t know the material composition of their shoes and only after searching inquiry did they learn what the U990TA4 was made of. Even more curious was the need to halt the sale of the said sneakers. As far as we are aware, shoes with pig skin uppers are not disallowed for jualan in Malaysia. The requirement is that the shoes are conspicuously labelled with the information on the leather used, and the footwear with probably pig skin be shrink-wrapped in plastic or displayed behind glass or acrylic display units, as is the case with retailers such as JD Sports.

It is, therefore, unclear why the Malaysian office of the Boston, Massachusetts shoe maker needed to take the extreme step of not availing that particular pair of sneakers for sale. It seems that they were being cautious, especially following the seizure of Swatch watches not deemed suitable for peddling to the public. Even after offering those who bought the U990TA4 and are unable to wear them the option of an exchange for another (presumably) pig skin-fee style or a full refund. Better recall the shoes, although possibly not total, than having Malaysia’s home ministry descend on their stores or other retailers nationwide, and make a dramatic confiscation. And, perhaps, more importantly, tempt not the powers that be with the precursor to an outright ban.

Photo: Zhao Xiangji