THE DUMPING of old stocks of unworn shoes by a well-known shoe company caused havoc and confusion on Ledra Street yesterday.
The Ecco store at the bottom of Ledra Street was getting rid of old stock, some 12 to 15 years old, by dumping it in a skip outside the store.
When passersby caught wind of what was happening and went to pick up the old stock, to their shock and fury, they discovered all the unworn shoes had been slashed down the middle.
One pensioner was seen picking up a few pairs for the younger folk in her family- most shoes were coloured for males coming in black and in boys’ sizes 35 to 36.
“Shame on them. They could have given these shoes to poor boys instead of ripping them up,” said the woman who went by the name of Maria.
However, a shop assistant explained to the Cyprus Mail that the soles of the shoes were manufactured many years ago using synthetic material known as polyurethane (PU), which in its old form is now deemed dangerous.
It is now believed the PU used to make soles in the 1990s can pose health risks after 15 to 20 years if touched or inhaled.
“This is why we had to slash all the shoes before dumping them,” said the shop assistant.
Company manager for Cyprus Fiona Graham was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Outside, passersby were still looking inside the skip for a pair of unworn shoes, even with the slash. One lady took ten pairs to send to her family in China.
When informed of the reason for the deliberate destruction of the shoes, one man sitting at a nearby cafe said the least the company could have done was to remove the shoes discreetly, so as not to arouse the interest of the public.
The Ecco shop assistant said they tried to explain to members of the public why the shoes were slashed, but new people kept on coming to see what was in the skip.
She said the store planned to put a sign on the skip warning people from taking the shoes until the skip could be removed from the street this morning.