New Balance has sought to explain a sole-destroying decision to dump hundreds of trainers in a skip after one of its Cumbrian shops unexpectedly closed for business.
For around two decades, Shap has been home to one of three county stores selling clothing and sought-after footwear made for many years at the company’s UK factory in Flimby, near Maryport.
Visitors have travelled many miles to the Market Square outlet, which has also become a well trodden destination for generations of local families.
“I would say 80 to 90 per cent of the village population have used it at one point of their lives,” says Kerryanne Wilde, a resident for 18 years.
“My youngest son, Bailey, had leg splints due to cerebral palsy. We couldn’t get trainers to fit him anywhere else but they would put extra Velcro on for him so he could wear the same as his peers and not be any different.
“A lot of people plan their journeys when they are going up north or down south on going to Shap because they always visit the shop. It is a hub for the village. It brings visitors and money to other local businesses — like the coffee and charity shops, pubs and fish and chip shop.”
But the store — which offers New Balance footwear at cheaper prices than big city fashion outlets — has not reopened since closing for Christmas.
When it was expected to reopen, a sign indicated that it was closed for refurbishment. Residents now fear it has shut for good with the loss of several jobs, and were stunned late last week to find scores of apparently new trainers dumped in a skip outside.
Since then, people have spent time rummaging through scores of surplus-to-requirements sneakers. These spilled into a large pile on the pavement prompting onlookers to brand the contents “horrendously wasteful”.
“People have been in and out of the skip since Friday,” said Kerryanne. “If they are not pairs then that’s fine. But why couldn’t they maybe have gone to charity like the Salvation Army, or those supporting people who have lost limbs at home or abroad rather than throwing perfectly good shoes away?”
A US-based spokesman for New Balance said this morning: “A general contractor doing work on-site had cleared old stock items from our store, including single shoes that could not be paired, damaged product and samples.
“While efforts were made to recycle or donate as many items as possible, we are currently re-evaluating our procedures to ensure the utmost rigour is applied when determining what can be appropriately recycled or donated.”
