CPSC Warns Consumers to Stop Using COOWALK Heated Insoles After Battery Fires Cause Severe Burns

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has warned consumers to stop using approximately 6,000 COOWALK and COOWALI brand heated insoles after determining the internal lithium-ion battery can explode and ignite — including when the insoles are turned off — posing burn and fire hazards. The agency issued the action on June 4, 2026 as a consumer warning, not a recall: the CPSC issues a warning when it cannot reach a recall agreement with the company.

According to the CPSC, there have been 26 reports of fires, explosions, or thermal incidents, and at least 23 burn injuries, including second- and third-degree burns that required skin grafts. The insoles were sold on Amazon.com and GearTrade.com from August 2022 through May 2026.

What makes this case unusually severe

Two facts in the CPSC notice elevate this above the typical lithium-ion battery action:

• The injury count is high relative to units sold. With about 6,000 units in distribution and 23 confirmed burn injuries, the injury rate is materially higher than is typical for a battery hazard of this kind.
• The burns include grafts. Skin-graft injuries are clinically among the most severe burn outcomes — they indicate full-thickness (third-degree) tissue destruction.

A battery that can ignite while powered off cannot be made safe by user behavior. There is no "remember to switch it off" mitigation.

What owners should do

Because this is a CPSC warning rather than a recall, there is no manufacturer refund, repair, or replacement offered. The CPSC's instruction is to stop using the insoles immediately and dispose of them. Specifically, consumers should:

• Stop using the insoles immediately, even if currently powered off
• Not attempt to discharge or dismantle the battery, and not throw the insoles in household trash
• Dispose of the insoles under local hazardous-waste rules — local collection sites accept lithium-ion batteries; municipal recycling guidance varies by jurisdiction
• Be alert to overheating, swelling, smoke, or unusual smell from any lithium-ion device

Consumers can report an incident or injury to the CPSC at SaferProducts.gov.

The broader pattern

Wearable and personal-electronics lithium-ion recalls have grown as low-cost battery cells move into clothing, footwear, and accessories. The CPSC has previously flagged that battery quality, cell sourcing, and protection-circuit design vary widely in the consumer wearable category — and that "off" does not always mean disconnected at the cell level. The COOWALK/COOWALI warning is consistent with that pattern, and follows a string of CPSC warnings on other low-cost heated-insole brands sold through online marketplaces.