TOMS Del Rey

TOMS is a for-profit shoe manufacturing company that has a humble beginning. It started in an apartment in Venice, California by Blake Mycoskie with the purpose of giving away a pair of shoes for every pair sold.

While he was in Argentina for a season of The Amazing Race, Mycoskie has seen the poverty of the people in the small towns and villages outside Buenos Aires. He felt compassion towards the people, especially the small children. They were so poor that they could not even afford to get a pair of shoes. Mycoskie also learned that the lack of shoes caused the kids to miss school and contract a number of disfiguring diseases.

In 2002, Mycoskie returned to Argentina where he met a group of aid workers who were collecting old shoes and giving them to children who had none. After talking to these people, he then made a decision to do something to help solve this problem.

  TOMS for tomorrow

Mycoskie sold his business for $500,000 to start his new company. Its name was derived from the “Shoes for Tomorrow Project.” Tomorrow as too long a word for the small tag at the back of the shoe, so they decided to further shorten it to TOMS.

The company started with only 250 pairs of shoes that were molded after the alpargata, a traditional shoe in Argentina. Mycoskie planned on selling these shoes on the streets of California so they can make shoes to be given away.  

After getting featured in the Los Angeles Times, the company had received orders that were 9 times more than what they had on hand. They had sold their first 10,000 pairs of shoes by the end of their first year. By 2011, they had more than 500 retailers globally.

  One for One Concept

With every pair of TOMS shoes purchased, the US-based company promises to give away another pair of footwear to the less fortunate. The One-for-One Concept is a powerful business model that helped address the needs of children, including health and education. These shoes have also created a positive impact on the economic situations of these countries.

TOMS has already given over 35 million pairs of shoes to more than 60 countries worldwide, including Argentina, Haiti, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Mexico, and more. The first 10,000 pairs of shoes were given away to the children in Argentina. They are working with 90 shoe-giving partners around the world donating silhouettes depending on the climate and environment of the country.

Contrary to popular notion, the shoes that they are giving away under the One-to-One program are made of high-quality materials. The shoes that are up for donation are made of higher-quality materials compared to those that are sold on shelves. Also, once a child has outgrown his/her shoes, he/she is given a new pair.

TOMS received tons of criticisms saying that the One-for-One Concept does not address the real cause of poverty. With that, the company responded by moving 40% of their production chain of shoe donations to the places where they actually give these shoes.

  TOMS, a philanthropic company

Over the years, the One-to-One Concept became very successful in providing shoes for those who are in need. In 2011, TOMS extended its business model to eyewear, called TOMS Eyewear. Like TOMS shoes, the company also gives a pair of eyewear for every pair sold.

The company also launched the TOMS Bags collection. They pledged to give a safe birth kit and provide training for skilled birth attendants for every purchase of TOMS Bags. These are only some of the initiatives that the philanthropic company has done for the betterment of the society.

To date, TOMS has already released several sneaker models and silhouettes. Along with the TOMS Paseo, one of the best TOMS shoe models is the Del Rey. It looks like an athletic shoe with a stylish and sophisticated feel.