According to TOMS Shoes Founder Blake Mycoskie, buy one pair of his company’s shoes and another pair will be given to a child in a poor country through his One for One Movement. His idea has quickly grown into a $100 million enterprise that has sold more than two million shoes over the past six years. That’s a lot of shoes. But besides that, it also means that two million shoes have been given to children who needed them.

Its popular style is its trademark “Classic” loafer and has introduced other designs including sequined shoes, ballet flats and wedges. Most recently the company introduced sunglasses and through its One for One program, for every pair of sunglasses you buy, vision screening will be provided to a child in need which may result in either prescription eyeglasses or corrective surgery.

By all accounts, it seems TOMS has the perfect socially conscious business plan, right? But dig beneath the surface and you may notice that the shoes are made in China. They are not a member of a fair trade organization. Glancing through its website and its FAQ pages show no mention of its manufacturing practices. I did find, on its Eyewear website’s FAQ page that its sunglasses were made in Italy. That’s it.

TOMS is no stranger to criticism. Kelsey Timmerman, author of Where Am I Wearing, documents the manufacturing conditions of some of the articles of clothing we may find ourselves wearing on a daily basis like Teva sandals and t-shirts. Last April he documented his concerns over TOMS Shoes which include that while providing shoes to children in need is great, it doesn’t really solve the larger problem of poverty.

According to Timmerman: “A takeaway from the One Day Without Shoes movement [one of TOMS Shoes’ promotions] of, ‘we need to give shoes to these poor shoeless people,’ isn’t useful. But getting more people to think about poverty on this level is important and I think that’s something that the TOMS critics miss. I always say step #1 is getting people to give a shit.

“However, I do wish that TOMS would not just give shoes on the back end, but give quality jobs on the front end. Then impact of TOMS, unlike like a pair of shoes, wouldn’t wear out.”

Here’s the thing, as far as shoe companies go, TOMS is onto something. Their heart is in the right place and they are making things happen as opposed to sitting on the sidelines and waiting for things in our world to improve by doing nothing. But like Timmerman, I would LOVE to see TOMS Shoes have its shoes (and eyewear) created using fair trade practices in developing countries where its providing much-needed employment to people in need. Then those families can afford to purchase shoes for their children. One pair for one child is going to go so far. Yes, it’s a lovely gesture and has good intentions. But good intentions won’t put food on the table night after night. Let’s get to the root of the problem and not just the surface.

Do you own a pair of TOMS Shoes? Or will you buy a pair? I’d love to hear what you think of the company, its mission and, its shoes! 🙂

Peace,

~Megy