The Guyana National Bureau of Standards monitors twenty-four commodities under its Standard Compliance programme. One of the standards monitored is footwear. In an effort to assist parents, GNBS on August 12 carried an article in the Guyana Chronicle ‘Shopping for Footwear.’
Quite a number of parents may have already purchased shoes for their children to return to school on August 31.
When taking the child to school for the first time the parent should measure the child’s feet in order to get a proper fitting. It is good to know whether the store will accept the return of a pair of shoes if they do not fit properly.
There is a saying ‘Big juta, Lil juta, all same price,’ so you are encouraged to buy the bigger size in order to have more value for your money. However, getting a good fit is important because a child’s toes or feet can be deformed for life. It may be difficult to get rid of a bunion at the side of a foot.
There are different methods used to arrive at the correct size for a child. One parent will let the child put a foot into her slipper and measure the size. There could be a drawing of the child’s foot on a piece of paper but one has to use some means of arriving at the size of the shoes for the child if the child is not accompanying the parent. Each year an inch is allowed for the growth of the child’s feet.
In order to have a durable pair of shoes to last for some time it is advisable to check that the soles of the shoes purchased are stitched. If not, the parent has to arrange for the stitching of the soles to avoid leaving the child without a pair of shoes when the next flood comes.
Footwear (GYS 9-4: 2003). This standard is a mandatory standard and as such, all importers and local manufacturers must ensure that the footwear which they exhibit for sale, complies with the requirements set out therein.
The standard requires that the label of each item of footwear has the name and address of the manufacturer or supplier or his/her identification number or brand name or trade mark.
The footwear must be labelled with the size, country of origin and the materials or symbols from which the sole and the upper are made. It should state: leather sole or leather upper, genuine leather, synthetic or man made materials.
In addition to the above labelling information, it is important that the colour of the footwear is clearly stated on the box or container.
The higher priced or ‘brand name’ footwear, is more expensive than the ordinary shoes. The manufacturers have to ensure that they offer quality footwear in order to maintain their reputation.
It is important to ensure that you receive a receipt for payment. The receipt will have to be presented in the event that a pair of shoes has to be returned.
In a recent case a consumer purchased a pair of coloured shoes just by trying on one side of the pair. When she returned home she found, to her surprise, that the other side had a different pattern but the colour was the same.
