free pair of their shoes. Crocs also sent 100,000 pairs of shoes to hospitals to be distributed to staff. Partnerships & collaborations Crocs was the title sponsor of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Tour from 2006 through the 2009 season. Crocs were in the public eye in 2021 with celebrities like Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber modeling the shoes on social media. Crocs were popular on social media like Tik Tok, as well. Crocs collaborations are announced on a regular basis, with individuals and brands designing their own limited edition versions. In 2021, they partnered with The Smiley Company to launch a special edition Croc. Imitations and counterfeits Crocs announced in 2006 that it filed complaints with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) and the United States district court against 11 companies that manufacture, import or distribute products, called "croc-offs", that Crocs believes infringe its patents. Seizures of counterfeit Crocs occurred in 2007 in the Philippines and Denmark, and were under litigation in South Africa. In 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that Crocs' design patent had been infringed. In 2007, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission requested a voluntary recall of Crocs-like clogs due to a potential choking hazard involving detaching plastic rivets. Crocs-like brands include Airwalk, Crosskix, Poliwalks, USA Dawgs/Doggers, Veggies, among others. Versions of the Croc style clogs have appeared in children's fashion catalogs, usually under their own name brands or as no names. Other knock-offs are in discount stores, amusement park stores, beach stores, department stores, and superstores. Health and safety Some Crocs shoes were tested and recommended by the U.S. Ergonomics company in 2005 and were accepted by the American Podiatric Medical Association in 2009. In 2008, the U.S. government Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved a model of Crocs with molded insoles as diabetic footwear, to help reduce foot injuries. Footwear such as Crocs and flip-flops came under scrutiny in 2006 in the U.S. and 2008 in Japan when children suffered injuries after the shoes became caught in escalator mechanisms. This was due to the soft shoe material combined with the smaller size of children's feet. In 2008, Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry, after receiving 65 complaints of injuries, requested that Crocs change its design. Internationally, some healthcare facilities introduced policies in 2007 regulating Crocs. Rapid City Regional Hospital in South Dakota changed