Tl;dr: Rainbow Sandals will not honor their lifetime warranty which they advertise with
Here's the long version:
(Direct quotes taken from emails in bold.)
Rainbow Sandals is a company that would appeal to someone like me, because I like the idea of them caring about the environment (they don't) and so when I learned they offered a lifetime guarantee on their sandals I was interested and I bought a pair.
I wore them frequently for years - they're extremely uncomfortable at first, but after breaking them in some they become reasonably comfortable (though, I would caution against believeing any of the claims that "they're the most comfortable sandal" -- they're not; they're just normal sandals of normal comfort).
After years of use I sent them pictures of my sandals to confirm that they would honor their warranty... and they said they wouldn't. I was sure there must be some misunderstanding, so I wrote back to them hoping for additional clarification and it became a whole mess.
I'm a big guy, who probably sweats just in general more than normal - so I mentioned that in one of my emails (my sandals haven't gotten wet, but I cannot guarantee they haven't been sweated in) -- the companies EVP of Sales & Operations wrote back assuring me, "Your size, nor your perspiration should be reflected in the warranty evaluation or coverage, and they were not considered in this decision." Well... then any issues that have happened to the sandals are manufacturing defects which should be covered by their lifetime warranty - that same EVP actually acknowledged that there ARE manufacturing defects with my sandals "Yes, the delamination, and the stitching coming out are defects that are generally covered for repair, we do not replace defects that are repairable."
I then decided I would send an email from an email address that they didn't know I also owned and they responded saying that sweat does void the warranty, "Like any leather product our leather sandals run the risk of cracking. This is generally caused by the sandals collecting moisture from water or sweat and drying out repeatedly." And "The warranty would be void if things like delamination occurs because of water damage or more than typical moisture affects the leather and the glues outside of our control as a manufacturer." And "Sweating in them would be expected to some point and that doesn’t necessarily void the warranty. What voids the warranty is when the material breaks down."
Also during/around this time I called their CS line a couple of times and spoke to different CS agents who said - in my feeling - equally incriminating suggestions that they know would void the warranty. One agent suggested that I could use Scotchgard to break them in/protect them. Well, their CS reps have subsequently clarified that Scotchgard, "would void the warranty." One of their employees, over the phone, talked about how you can get the sandals wet, even going so far as to mention that he wears them surfing and in the sauna, and said that they're fine as long as they're not left to dry out in the sun. My sandals have never been left to dry out in the sun.
Ok... and now we have to go into the rabbit hole. I started doing research because I found this especially frustrating. I'm sure people on this site understand, but when there's a company that has built its reputation on being down to earth, mellow, etc. and then they nickle and dime their loyal customers when the situation arises it's discouraging! So I started conducting research. Turns out the owner of the company's son gave an interview where he said (please bear in mind while you read this that cracked materials is one of the reasons that they WILL use to deny warranties, and is one of the reasons they provided to me), "The original ones, we can’t find the sole anymore, they don’t sell it, but the bottom sole would literally last 30 years no problem. They wouldn’t wear out from the bottoms. They’d wear out from the top before they would wear through the bottoms. Now, if you wear them everyday and you’re hard on them, you’ll get like a year. But we can’t get that rubber anymore."
So... it turns out that this company is not at all cool. They know they're maing a product that lasts for a year, and are using the claim of a lifetime guarantee as a bait and switch tactic to entice people to purchase sandals which they know they have no intention of repairing or replacing.
Anyway, I don't think very much will come of this, and I actually have a lot more that I could add here, but just trust me - DON'T BUY RAINBOW SANDALS.
Rainbow Sandals, Inc. Reviews
Tl;dr: Rainbow Sandals will not honor their lifetime warranty which they advertise with
Here's the long version:
(Direct quotes taken from emails in bold.)
Rainbow Sandals is a company that would appeal to someone like me, because I like the idea of them caring about the environment (they don't) and so when I learned they offered a lifetime guarantee on their sandals I was interested and I bought a pair.
I wore them frequently for years - they're extremely uncomfortable at first, but after breaking them in some they become reasonably comfortable (though, I would caution against believeing any of the claims that "they're the most comfortable sandal" -- they're not; they're just normal sandals of normal comfort).
After years of use I sent them pictures of my sandals to confirm that they would honor their warranty... and they said they wouldn't. I was sure there must be some misunderstanding, so I wrote back to them hoping for additional clarification and it became a whole mess.
I'm a big guy, who probably sweats just in general more than normal - so I mentioned that in one of my emails (my sandals haven't gotten wet, but I cannot guarantee they haven't been sweated in) -- the companies EVP of Sales & Operations wrote back assuring me, "Your size, nor your perspiration should be reflected in the warranty evaluation or coverage, and they were not considered in this decision." Well... then any issues that have happened to the sandals are manufacturing defects which should be covered by their lifetime warranty - that same EVP actually acknowledged that there ARE manufacturing defects with my sandals "Yes, the delamination, and the stitching coming out are defects that are generally covered for repair, we do not replace defects that are repairable."
I then decided I would send an email from an email address that they didn't know I also owned and they responded saying that sweat does void the warranty, "Like any leather product our leather sandals run the risk of cracking. This is generally caused by the sandals collecting moisture from water or sweat and drying out repeatedly." And "The warranty would be void if things like delamination occurs because of water damage or more than typical moisture affects the leather and the glues outside of our control as a manufacturer." And "Sweating in them would be expected to some point and that doesn’t necessarily void the warranty. What voids the warranty is when the material breaks down."
Also during/around this time I called their CS line a couple of times and spoke to different CS agents who said - in my feeling - equally incriminating suggestions that they know would void the warranty. One agent suggested that I could use Scotchgard to break them in/protect them. Well, their CS reps have subsequently clarified that Scotchgard, "would void the warranty." One of their employees, over the phone, talked about how you can get the sandals wet, even going so far as to mention that he wears them surfing and in the sauna, and said that they're fine as long as they're not left to dry out in the sun. My sandals have never been left to dry out in the sun.
Ok... and now we have to go into the rabbit hole. I started doing research because I found this especially frustrating. I'm sure people on this site understand, but when there's a company that has built its reputation on being down to earth, mellow, etc. and then they nickle and dime their loyal customers when the situation arises it's discouraging! So I started conducting research. Turns out the owner of the company's son gave an interview where he said (please bear in mind while you read this that cracked materials is one of the reasons that they WILL use to deny warranties, and is one of the reasons they provided to me), "The original ones, we can’t find the sole anymore, they don’t sell it, but the bottom sole would literally last 30 years no problem. They wouldn’t wear out from the bottoms. They’d wear out from the top before they would wear through the bottoms. Now, if you wear them everyday and you’re hard on them, you’ll get like a year. But we can’t get that rubber anymore."
So... it turns out that this company is not at all cool. They know they're maing a product that lasts for a year, and are using the claim of a lifetime guarantee as a bait and switch tactic to entice people to purchase sandals which they know they have no intention of repairing or replacing.
Anyway, I don't think very much will come of this, and I actually have a lot more that I could add here, but just trust me - DON'T BUY RAINBOW SANDALS.