A pair of children’s sandals that cost about $20 can now be returned because small decorative pieces may detach. Target and federal safety officials are telling families to stop using the recalled footwear immediately. The refund is available in stores or through a prepaid mail return.

Identify the sandals before making a trip

The recall is limited to a particular Cat & Jack design, not every shoe under the Target-owned brand. The affected sandals are tan, have two raffia straps with gold buckles and plastic pearls, and were sold in toddler sizes 5T through 12T.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s July 16 notice covers about 211,000 pairs sold at Target stores nationwide and on Target.com from January through May 2026. Cat & Jack appears on the sole and bottom of the recalled shoes, which gives families a quick way to distinguish them from similar-looking sandals.

Target received 23 reports of pearls falling off, according to the notice. No injuries had been reported at the time of the recall, but the loose decorations can become a choking hazard. That is why the official instruction is to remove the sandals from children now rather than waiting to see whether a pearl loosens.

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Two ways to get the full refund

A shopper can return a recalled pair to any Target store for a full refund. The other option is to contact Target and request a prepaid shipping label, then return the sandals by mail. The CPSC notice gives Target’s toll-free number as 800-591-3869, staffed daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central time.

Target also maintains a product-recall search page where shoppers can look up recent notices by keyword, manufacturer or item number. Saving a screenshot of the recall and taking a photo of the shoes can make the customer-service conversation easier, especially if the original packaging is gone.

The federal notice does not say that a receipt is required, and it does not state a filing deadline. Families should still handle the return promptly because the safety instruction is to stop use immediately. No legitimate recall refund should require a fee, gift card purchase or disclosure of an online-banking password.

Do not try to repair the decoration

Gluing a loose pearl back onto the shoe is not the recall remedy. A home repair cannot verify that every attachment point is secure, and a child may continue wearing a product federal safety officials say should be taken away. The sensible money choice is the full refund, not spending more on adhesive or replacement decorations.

Families should also check places where the shoes may have been used or stored. A detached pearl could be in a stroller, car seat, toy bin or laundry basket even when the sandal still appears mostly intact. Keeping the pair and any loose pieces away from children until the return prevents another exposure.

The sandals were manufactured in Cambodia and imported by Target, but those details are less useful to a shopper than the appearance, size range, brand marking and sale period. Comparing all four avoids confusing this recall with other Cat & Jack footwear.

What to do if the return process fails

Most customers should be able to use Target’s store or mail process. If a store refuses a matching product or the promised remedy is not provided, the CPSC notice includes a “Recall Complaint” route for reporting trouble with a company response.

Consumers can also use SaferProducts.gov, the CPSC’s public reporting portal, to submit a report about an unsafe consumer product or a product-related injury. That reporting channel is separate from Target’s refund process, so filing a safety report does not replace returning the sandals.

If a child may have swallowed a pearl or is having trouble breathing, the issue is no longer a refund question. Seek emergency help immediately. For a household without an injury, the main steps remain simple: match the design, remove it from use and choose the store or prepaid-mail refund route.

A recall can be useful even without a receipt

Children’s clothing and shoes often outlast their packaging, and gifts may never come with a receipt. A public recall notice supplies a product description, sales period and official remedy that families can use to start the return conversation.

Before leaving for the store, place both sandals in a bag and note that the CPSC notice identifies the remedy as a refund. If the shoes were bought online, the order history may provide another useful record, even though the federal notice does not make a receipt part of the product-identification test.

The $20 original price may not look large next to other household bills, but replacing unsafe footwear should not have to come out of the family budget. The full-refund remedy puts that cost back on the recall process where it belongs.

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This article was researched and drafted with AI assistance and checked against the linked primary sources. Public records were used to verify every specific figure and deadline.