Sunday, November 1, 2009

The Power of Shoes

The power of shoes and giving. That is what TOMS Shoes’ Blake Mycoskie’s new business model- one-for-one is based on. While visiting Argentina in 2006, Blake discovered that some of the children living there did not own shoes. Many of them were unable to attend school simply because they would have to go barefoot. When he got back to the United States he decided to start TOMS Shoes which follows the simple idea to give one pair of shoes to a child every time TOMS sells a pair of shoes- one for one.

His shoes are designed after the Argentinean-style canvas shoe, the alpargatas. They are featured in plaid, neon-fades and some even contain glitter. TOMS has sold over 150,000 shoes since its start and hopes to give over 300,000 shoes to children this year. For every shoe drop Blake and a team of friends and family personally present the children with their new pairs of shoes.

So what can we learn from Blake and TOMS? He has created a sustainable business model that is based around making the world a better place. TOMS Shoes is making the change that is needed within the business world. Now business is not only about how much money you can make, but how you can impact world.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member, Josie Fox.

1 comment:

Printing Postcards said...

That is a very nice cause. But sadly, this doesn't only happen in Argentina. A lot of kids living in third world countries are in far-worse situation. Hopefully they can also reach out to those kids.