Running shoe company On is sued over footwear’s allegedly “loud, embarrassing” squeak

Trendy running shoe company On is being sued by some customers over what they claim is a defect in the shoes, which they allege emit “a loud, embarrassing and difficult-to-stop squeaking sound … with each step.”

The class action lawsuit, filed Oct. 9 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, claims the customers wouldn’t have bought the shoes if they had known about the noise. The complaint alleges that the squeak is caused by the company’s CloudTec shoe design, which relies on “hexagonal, octangular and ovular shaped holes that form the external landing surface of the shoes.” 

When wearers take a step, the rubber within the CloudTec design rubs together, resulting in a “noisy and embarrassing squeak,” the lawsuit claims. 

On, a Swiss company with U.S. offices in Portland, Oregon, said it doesn’t comment on ongoing legal matters.

Other customers have complained about the noise in online forums such as Reddit, with some posting hacks for trying to stop the shoes from squeaking. The two consumers who filed the lawsuit claim they stopped wearing their On running shoes shortly after purchasing them due to the noise, which they both described as embarrassing.

The lawsuit also points out that the On running shoes cost a premium, with its CloudTec shoes retailing between $140 to $180 a pair, higher than the average running shoe price of $132.90. 

The complaint names 11 types of On shoes made with CloudTec that could experience squeaking:

• Cloud 5
• Cloud 6
• CloudMonsters
• Cloudtilts
• Cloudsurfers
• Cloudeclipse
• Cloudleap
• CloudSky
• Cloudswift
• Cloudzone
• Cloudrunner

The lawsuit claims that consumers haven’t been able to successfully return the shoes based on the squeak because On’s warranty “does not extend to defects due to the wrong fit, normal wear and tear,” with the company allegedly describing the squeaking as “normal wear and tear.”

The complaint is seeking compensatory, statutory and punitive damages for what it believes are likely “thousands of people” who purchased On shoes with the CloudTec design.