Skechers Will Pay $40 Million Settlement For Misleading Toning Shoes

Sketchers is going to pay $40 million in refunds for falsely claiming its toning shoes can help you lose weight or strengthen and tone your buttocks, legs and abs.

That's according to the Federal Trade Commission. The governmental entity said Skechers agreed to settlement, which is part of a broader multi-state investigation and class action suit.

Last year, the FTC reached a similar settlement with Reebok over its EasyTone ads. The deadline to file claims on that brand was April 10, 2012. 

Skechers also made deceptive claims about its Resistance Runner, Toners, and Tone-ups shoes, according to the FTC.

False Ads

• A Shape-ups ad telling consumers to “Shape Up While You Walk,” and “Get in Shape without Setting Foot in a Gym,” and claiming that the shoes are designed to promote weight loss and tone muscles.
  
• Shape-ups ads with an endorsement from a chiropractor named Dr. Steven Gautreau, who recommended the product based on the results of an “independent” clinical study he conducted that tested the shoes’ benefits compared to those provided by regular fitness shoes. The FTC alleges that this study did not produce the results claimed in the ad, that Skechers failed to disclose that Dr. Gautreau is married to a Skechers marketing executive, and that Skechers paid Dr. Gautreau to conduct the study.
• Shape-ups ads featuring celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Brooke Burke. Airing during the 2011 Super Bowl, the Kardashian ad showed her dumping her personal trainer for a pair of Shape-ups. The Burke ad told consumers that the newest way to burn calories and tone and strengthen muscles was to tie their Shape-ups shoe laces. 
• An ad that claims consumers who wear Resistance Runner shoes will increase “muscle activation” by up to 85 percent for posture-related muscles, 71 percent for one of the muscles in the buttocks, and 68 percent for calf muscles, compared to wearing regular running shoes.
  

Filed Claims

Consumers who have bought Skecher's had the opportunity to file a claim to get a partial refund. The deadline was April 18, 2013.

For those that did file, settlement checks were mailed to approved claimants on July 12. Checks must be cashed by October 10, 2013.

Approximate refund amounts vary per shoe type:

• Shape Ups $34
• Podded Sole Shoes $23
• Tone Ups $17
• Resistance Runners $36