An Open Letter to Teva
Tyrell Bay (Carriacou), Grenada

You should have someone send you some Crocs - http://www.crocs.com/home.jsp - they're amazing, comfortable, and the will never, ever stink up the room. Oh yeah, they also float.

Oooo.. I have a pair of Crocks (BRIGHT, make that hot ass pink)… They are worn in hospitals mostly by nursing staff… I wore mine to the mall recently and became so embarassed from so many stares at my shoes that I changed then and there to my expensive slippers that I purchased at Brookstone. I find Crocks kind of uncomfortable over time if you do a lot of walking, but others do agree with Matt. You will for sure get attention if you wear them. The are all foam like. Tony hates his… I could sent them to you. They are banana yellow. lol

hehehe… I just might take you up on that Em!

I love it. Craig is travelling the globe, and we're talking about the pros and cons of Crocs… Nice. =) Anyway, I have my khaki ones and they're not gaudy or anything. I will say people (including myself) are prone to make comments like, "Who the HELL would ever wear those out?" until they try them on… that was my experience anyway. They've now become my official warm weather shoe.

Update

The following was received from Teva yesterday:

Dear Craig,

Thank you for your most recent letter regarding your RS Universal Sandal and I apologize for the difficulties you are experiencing with them. The leather on the sandal is waterproofed against mild conditions like walking city streets in the rain. They are not meant to be worn as full time backpacking or river sandals. When exposed to continuous moisture, the waterproofing will break down and the leather will eventually become water logged. Once in this condition, if they are not dried, the leather will begin to rot and of course a foul odor will accompany this process.

We have an entire line of hiking, running, and river sandals that are made for full time outdoor activities. They are the Trail Wraptor, the Terra Fi2, the Dozer, the Cynder, the Guide ’06, the Guide ’06 L/C, the Guide Thong, and the Universal Buckle. These sandals contain the stickiest most durable rubber on the market (either SSR, river, or spider rubber) and the uppers of each sandal are constructed from synthetic materials designed to stand up to the elements. They are comfortable and supportive. Perhaps in the future more extensive research will help you make an informed decision on the right sandal for your adventures. Please do not hesitate to contact me with further questions or concerns regarding our products. Have a great day!

Sincerely,
Steve CundySales
Center Representative

I think by "Perhaps in the future more extensive research will help you make an informed decision on the right sandal for your adventures," translates, roughly, to "Screw you, world travelin' hippie."

That's exactly what I think he meant with that comment. How funny…GG The JFG.

My current sandals are Body Glove and stink really bad, even as I write this and eat a cheesesteak, the smell overwhelms the greasy sandwhich. But my prior pair also where Teva and they smelled really bad too. I used to wash them and leave them in the bright sun to disinfect and kill the deathness, with little success. What I've figured out is that these things are planned obsolesence. The shoes include foam, even in the supposedly hard rubber part. So water (and whatnot) eventually get in, and stay in. Bacteria - smell - shoes thrown out - replaced - simple. They could make a material that didn't do this, but where is the profit in that? Consumers are so programmed to be happy to buy something new and throw out the old these days, that who is going to say anything? You might think that the greenies, the Earth lovers, would make a stink about this waste of earth's resources and energy to create sandals destined to be thrown out quickly. I guess they are more interested in other peoples SUVs then their own foot stink. Nice blog dude! Spread the word. No Justice, Hear Me Stink!

One year ago I bought the Teva Trail Wraptor after reading a glorious test in the "Consumentengids", a Dutch consumers magazine. And indeed they fit perfectly, I even used them as running shoes. I write "used" as i cannot wear these sandals any more because of their terrible stench. I have tried washing them in a number of ways but nothing will make the smell dissapear. Last month on a sailing trip to England a horrible but familiar cheesy smell hit me. When I looked down at the the feet of a companion who sat downwind i immediately recognised his Teva Trail Wraptors. He was emberrassed and disappointed, because he bought the sandals just one week ago.

Yes, it's been many months since I disposed of these sandals, and I can still vividly recall the odor.

Great stories….

So glad to find out others have experienced this same problem with Teva shoes. Bought a brand new spiffy pair of Wraptors for a hike and ended up with skanky blistered feet. The funny thing is that Teva advertises an anti-bacterial footbed on the Wraptors which is supposed to combat odor.

i can not believe i looked on google for "teva smell" and got so many hits!! how can people keep buying these sandals when the smell never stops and there is no way to stop it.. unbearably stinky teva's– why is this?

Wow! I googled "teva smell" and found exactly what i was looking for! I currently have a pair of tevas that smell absolutely horrible- I've never had any prior problems with foot odor- So wasn't sure if this was something i'd developed or because of the sandal?? I'm guessing it's the sandal… I was thinking that it couldn't possibly be the sandal- As i've heard of tennis shoes smelling bad- but had never thought sandals would be the same way- As i assumed my feet could "breathe"…Oh well Maybe it's just Tevas as i've never had this problem before

I got these Teva Volterra Alp sandal and I can feel your pain (…perhaps I should say smell…)

These sandals are very convenient if you're anti-social type of person as the smell can (and will) make every person around you move at least 15ft away. Should you need a seat while on subway just stand next to the seat you want, wait 10 seconds and voila! It's like magic

Bob NJ

I have owned a pair of Teva Terra Fi 2 sandals for about two years. Best pair of shoes ever. I wear them in all weather and for many hours of wading in salt water. Needless to say, they stink to high heaven after a while. But I found the cure. Fill a laundry tub or sink with just enough water to cover the sandals, put stones or weights on the sandals to keep them submerged, add two cups of white vinegar, soak overnight, and air dry for one day (ideally outside). No more stink, although they have a very faint vinegar smell for a day or two afterwards. No biggie. Vinegar soaking is the only way I have found to kill the bacteria that collects inside the sole (it gets in through the strap holes). For continued odor control, spray the top of the soles with Lysol once or twice a week until wet and let sit overnight.

I have owned two pairs of Tevas, and won't buy any more. They DO SO SMELL - both types, leather, and rubber.

As you note, Craig, nothing can stop the smell. Not powder, disinfectant, spray deodorant, mouthwash - nothing.

The TEVA person who replied to your original post strolled disingenuously through the opening you left him and attributed the problem to your allowing the shoes to become waterlogged. All I can say to that is that if TEVA really believed waterlogged leather was their problem, then they have no reason to offer antimicrobial-treated rubber models made exclusively from synthetic materials. But they do. I find the wet leather ploy offensive. They're mocking you Craig, and it stinks to high heaven.

In fact, identically the same smell problem obtains for the antimicrobial-treated rubber soled models. In my case it took about two weeks for this to begin versus one week for the leather soled pair. I found myself stuck in northern India with no option but to keep them (outdoors) as they were my only items of footwear. Not only did the smell raise eyebrows in every quarter, but the soles soon began to fall apart as well. I had them glued back together by a street vendor who sadly shook his head, and offered me a lifetime warranty. I told him things would be much better for American shoes with the Obama Administration coming up to speed, but I think he gave up on America then and there hunched, cross-legged over his gluepot. Nice going TEVA. We lost another one on account of you.

I found that after about a year of use (during which I stored them outdoors at my wife's request, but I can't blame her) the odor of the leather pair eventually mostly faded away. But they were still pretty interesting to my dog who eventually chewed off the straps, and I had to get rid of them. I lack the courage to try another pair. Anyway, I'd lose too many friends over that break period.

The good news is that Merrill reportly makes far less stinky, and far less fragile sandals. That's where I'm headed.

Good luck Craig.
-Rob

Good to know I'm not alone - Teva gave me some standard blow back about body chemistry reacting to the shoe materials. Right.

I first noticed the Teva stench, which I could smell over the stench of the Malaysian sewers, about a month after I started wearing the things. It smelled like I had stepped in a huge pile of dog crap and tracked it home. I've been an athlete all my life and have had a zillion pairs of favorite rancid worn out shoes but nothing compared to this. At first I thought there was something rotten in the house but oddly the smell was everywhere I checked. Hmm… Was it me? Maybe BO? Then it hit me, it was my shoes. Soaking in Detol overnight solved the problem then I didn't wear them for 2 years.

Started wearing them again, no stink, no problem until I spent a day in the rain in Melaka. Smell is back with a vengance. Scrubbing the footbed did nothing. So, I'm thinking Rob you're on to something suspecting water getting in thorugh the strap slots in the footbed.

I'll try the vinegar. But really, what's up with Teva? I've had 10 year old, dog pooh encrusted, lawn mowing Converse All Stars that smelled better than 1 month old Tevas.

My TEVA DOZERS are the first shoes I've ever had in my life that have smelled. WTH? Can't wait to try some of these tips on getting the stench out, because it is so embarassing when I wear them over to my BF's house and he wants to massage my feet- ewww! However- they are pretty comfy, once I got over the initial blistery breaking-in phase last year. Until I can figure something out, I'll be forgoing the foot rubs from my Honey, LOL… great blog, too!

You are a very smart person!

Keen's 'Venice' or 'Newport' hiking sandals - I'm on my second pair… I gave the first pair to an older man in Fiji — I had a couple thousand kilometers on them and decided 'WTH, I'm tired of these boring blue sandals, I want some snappy RED Keen's…'

I wore my Tevas (Terra Fi2) A LOT for about 3 years before they ever started getting funky. But when they finally did, they REALLY did. I tried everything: soap, bleach, detergent, freezing, etc, etc, etc… Nothing worked.

One day, someone told me to soak them in brake fluid - yes - brake fluid.. I tried it, and it worked! Unstrap them and apply brake fluid, liberally, to the foot-side. Let them 'simmer' (in the sun, if possible) for several hours. Then soak up as much of the brake fluid as you can - You won't get it all, no matter what you do.. I think that's why this works..

The Tevas will feel a little slippery the first couple of times you wear them, and you might get some crusty black lines on your feet (around the edges).. But the smell will be gone!! (At least for a month or two - then wash, rinse, repeat.)

The brake fluid technique has not been tested on leather sandals - only Terra Fi's. I don't know what it would do to leather. Might be worth a try though, if nothing else is working for you.

Lucas,

Brake fluid is highly toxic and should be handled carefully and properly disposed of (returned to auto shop or hazardous waste facility). Might want to consider something safer, unless you're using the teva-funked fluid in your car.

Robert,

I agree! Brake fluid is very toxic and can cause cancer. It's right on the label, for goodness sake. I own a pair of Teva Cardena Fisherman sandals, and they REEK!!!! Wow! Do they smell bad. It's so bad the smell can fill up an entire room. It smells like rotten, sweaty tennis shoe and a sweat stench locker room. I cannot believe that TEVA would make garbage like this, as I've only had them for less than 6 months, but they do. My theory is that it's probably the glue-cement construction. It probably reacts to the sweat of your foot in an overt way that produces a horrible odor. I know of some glues that can really smell, and they're typically industrial, heavy-duty adhesives, so I believe that TEVA is trying to make a quality sandal that won't fall apart easily. Even if you wash them and scrub them the smell comes back almost immediately. The problem is the whole thing stinks. I'm thinking I'll go with Keen Kreeks or Merrell Migration. They both have AEGIS silver on them, and Keen even advertises that their sandals can be put in the laundry.

I work in a biological research institute. As two of us have Tevas and both have the same problem we set about finding out why.

The smell is caused by bacteria which live in and feed on the sweat and skin cells which accumulate on the sandals. This is by no means unusual and most forms of footwear are susceptible to the problem, but we wanted to find out why the problem seems worse with Tevas than other types of footwear.

The smell is actually caused by the waste excreted by the bacteria as they feed. Through taking swabs from the Tevas and growing the bacteria found on agar we were able to isolate the strains of bacteria present. Although several strains were found, the predominant strain was Corynebacteria. This bacterium is known to thrive only in acid conditions, and a simple litmus test confirmed the Tevas to be slightly acidic with a pH of 5.5.

In further tests we discovered the acidity had been absorbed by the thick skin on the soles of the feet and the Corynebacteria were also present there. It seems the materials used in Tevas are slightly acidic and so encourage the Corynebacteria bacteria to live on them, which in turn causes the Teva smell.

There are many ways to reduce acidity, but most of the methods we use in the laboratory would not be suitable for use on footwear and feet. After trying several ways of tackling the problem we decided to try Marmite – yes I do mean the stuff you put on your toast. Marmite is slightly alkaline with a pH of around 8 but also acts an antiseptic due to the high salt content. Marmite is just alkaline enough to neutralise the acidity, and the mild antiseptic effect is all that is needed to kill the Corynebacteria bacteria.

After treating both the sandals and soles of the feet by coating with Marmite for about ten minutes then rinsing in water we found the problem of the smell was completely gone. Tests by taking further swabs from the sandals confirmed the Corynebacteria bacteria were no longer present. The pH of the sandals was found to have shifted to almost 7 which should prevent the Corynebacteria bacteria from returning.

It’s too early to tell how long this treatment will work for, but our best guess is about three months before needing to be done again.

Absolutely fascinating, Richard. Thanks for sharing your research! Now, if folks in the US can just find some of the stuff to treat their sandals with…

I did see Marmite at World Market last week, but yuck!

Hello,

I have to agree with the comments. Two weeks ago I bought a pair of Teva Dozer for my vacation in South Florida. I was told at the store that these were waterproof and had antibacterial material. I wore them twice at the beach where they got wet with saltwater. After the first use they started to stink so I washed them in fresh water but the smell wouldn't go away. I washed them again with soap and let them air dry. The smell never went away. I took them back to the store and got a pair of running shoes instead.

I have an odor problem with a pair of TEVAS, specifically the Women's Ultimate Thong. These are "spider rubber" water sandals and let me tell you: they STINK to high heaven. It's like burning asphalt. Completely noxious; makes my eyes water and nose run. The funny thing is this: I have NEVER worn them! I put them in a spare room to air out in hopes that smell would dissipate but no such luck. Plus they run about a half-size too big, which would make them dangerous to wear IMO. And the soles are coated with some sticky substance to "reduce slippage" but further review indicates it does nothing but collect debris. Needless to say after stumbling across this site (which is great, BTW) I will not be sending TEVA any more of my dollars. In fact, the sandals are going back TOMORROW in hopes of a refund. At the very least I can get a chuckle or two at subjecting the TEVA staff to an odor assault of their own making.

I, too, have stinky Teva sandals. They started to stink after I had them about two weeks.

I called Teva and they told me "foot odor is not a shoe defect". I could tell that I was getting a stock answer to an oft asked question.

It sounds to me like they have a problem that they don't want to address. I will never buy another pair, and I hope that Teva has seen this blog…

Our son is 18 months old and we bought him a child's pair of size 4 Tevas. Just a couple of weeks later and they smell so bad we've got to toss them out! Please be warned - stop buying tea's until they "come clean" and fix the problem!

Hello
I have similar experience. After two weeks of active city usage during summer, my Tevas with leather sole also developed bad smell. I've washed them, than two weeks later smell returned. So I washed em again and again, and again… It seems that I need to wash em every two weeks of usage. That advertised special anti-bacterial surface is simply not good. I even wrote nice mail to warn them and they arrogantly replied with: "Wash them more often." During my 38 years I had many sandals, but those never smelled. One thing is sure: (overpriced) Teva NEVER again! Ill be sure to spread my experience to my hiker friends as well.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Regards and happy hiking

Realizing that many people have the common problem of the Teva, as noted in the above comments, what is the solution? One person suggested changing the pH of the sandal. What are the sandals of choice that would be getter for 'odor control'? I presently am using Earth sandals, and have a stinking problem. What company makes the 'best' summer footwear?

I have used Chacos for about a year, including on some trips through a rainforest. They have never smelled bad, although I do not usually have smelly feet anyway. They are more open than Tevas, I think. Also, Keens are nice, and don't smell (for me). But they are less open than Tevas.

My peoples.

I was worried my 10 year old son was the only one. I was like, man, what the ??? When you go to the toilet you're not inadvertently peeing on your own feet are you? Maybe I'll see if Chacos come in kids' sizes. This odor is downright antisocial.

I just webchatted with Teva, they said it was just that my shoes need washed. So i'm going to be a good consumer… and wash them. But because this issue is all over the first page of google search results… if this doesn't work, i'm going to do something. I didn't pay a lot of money for these shoes ('m a college kid… so this was a huge purchase for me) to just have them stink up my room.

Oh nooooo. Last week, while on vacation in Alabama, my 1999-ish Teva's finally bit it (one of the straps pulled out of the base). I've hiked 4 continents in these things (actual mileage?…lord only knows) and never had a complaint. Functional, durable , comfortable, quick drying…without question I was happy with my purchase. So now I'm shopping for replacements and all I can find are people complaining about Teva-stink, which my pair never exhibited. I wonder if this is yet another example of a once-good company cheapening their process until the product becomes junk (a la Vasque…I treasure my old Sundowners that were actually made in Italy. Aside from new laces, still trekking after 15+ years.)

Guess I'm going to broaden my search to include other brands of sandals.

I am a grandma, never had foot odor untill I bought Tevas. My grandson aged 3 same thing. Of course I should have done my homework and checked Google, ( thanks for the suggestion, Teva!!).
Anyway, not only will I never buy Teva sandals again but I will boycot all their products and tell everyone the smelly stories!
Stinky Grandma

Holy Stench Batman! Yes. I too sprung for what I consider to be mucho dinero on my Tirra W's. And oh….the smell. My sweetie came into the bathroom where I was furiously scrubbing on the wretched things and asked me what had died. I am going to try the Marmite. I am bound and determined to clean (and wear!) these pricey stink bombs. Next time, before I consider buying sandals, I will follow Grandma Christina's lead and check the Google….the upside, though small, is knowing that so many others have had the same issue!

The tevas that are not made of their new spider rubber don't ever smell for me. You know, the classic tevas that they still sell… Hurricanes… They're the best shoes ever, I recently purchased some of their new spider rubber shoes because I needed closed toe shoes for work. They smelled horrible by week two. I swear by teva hurricanes they are way lighter than chaos and way more breathable than keens. They are also almost indestructible. I'm sad to realize that the company is being dishonest. They should just drop the spider rubber and create shoes the way they used to. The saddest thing is their shoes are super comfortable and lightweight but smell horrible. I dealt with the smell because my legs felt so much better but it got to the point where I knew my co workers could smell them.

Interesting discussion on Tevas - I am encountering the same issue. Several years ago, I had to toss a pair that served me well for many years (including a tour in Iraq). Since then, I've gone through three pairs, all of which A) Stunk to high heaven and B) Bit the dust after about 1.5 years each. I'd never encountered either issue before.

There's no doubt in my mind that Teva's quality control and production methods have gone over a cliff in the past decade, and I'll be looking for a different brand next time around. I've talked to the Teva customer service folks before and gotten the same standard "not our fault" response others have cited.

I wish I could go back to 1999 and get five or six pairs of the type that served me so well - I'd be set for life!

Despite the gravity of this smelly situation, I have to admit that after reading some of the issues, responses and solutions that it made me see the humorous side of Teva foot stench. I've owned Tevas for years…mostly Hurricane and Terra Fi and have built up a collection of roughly 6 pairs. Living in AZ as I do, they're worn year round so it became necessary to have enough to rotate. Even though they are…after about a year, I too noticed a horrendous eye-watering stench emanating from my feet. Adding insult to injury…one of my cats also peed on a pair of them. I've washed, scrubbed, disinfected and cleaned with an enzyme cleaner…but the only permanent solution I've found is to toss them out and replace them. Other than that…because I have the ability to rotate them, I just scrub them, leave them in the sun to dry and they're good to go for a week or so before I have to repeat it. Do I think that this indicates an inferior product…hell no.

I look at it this way. I wear underwear…I have enough underwear so that I don't have to wear the same pair every day. After I wear them, I wash them. If they start to smell because I've worn them for too long…does that mean there's a problem with the underwear?