Last week I went out wearing a pair of Ecco shoes. I was so embarrassed at the mess I left on the floor - the black mess which came from the soles of the Ecco shoes I was wearing and which were crumbling away. I have checked my other 2 pairs of Ecco shoes. The soles on these were splitting and crumbling too. From a search of the 'web' I have found that Ecco shoes' sole failures are quite common. Nevertheless when I take a pair of shoes out of my wardrobe, I expect them to be in a similar condition to when they were put away. So I have 3 pairs of Ecco shoes which have failed and are unwearable apparantly due to an inherent defect.