• Join Together Online, Tuesday, November 20, 2007 12:15 PM

Officials at retail giant Nordstrom have agreed to stop selling sandals with hidden three-ounce flask, a funnel and a plastic key after receiving complaints from a community-based prevention and treatment organization in Oregon. Pete Schulberg, communications director of the Oregon Partnership, wrote a letter to Nordstrom's president of stores, Erik B. Nordstrom, describing the sandals "as a means for underage drinkers to hide alcohol."

Shortly thereafter, Erik Nordstrom left a voicemail message for Schulberg referring to the Reef sandals in question as a "ridiculous product" and said they would be removed from store shelves.

"Our goal is to have great fashion," says Michael Boyd, a Nordstrom spokesperson. Boyd says that while the company does not view the sandals--sold in the men's department--as an obvious attempt to encourage alcohol use or target a specific age group, the product "seems gimmicky" and "doesn't fit with our merchandise mix."

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