RACHEL JOHNSON
Assistant Perspectives Editor
Ethical Egoism states that service-oriented acts are not altruistic; rather, an individual is helping someone else in order to better his or her own interests. Whether or not one agrees with the theory, TOMS Shoes has created a method of service that allows consumers to make purchases to benefit others while benefiting themselves.
TOMS Shoes is a company that designs comfortable, trendy footwear that is sold to consumers through their Web site (www.tomsshoes.com) or in various stores including Becker, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom. For each pair that is purchased, a pair of shoes is donated to a child in need. Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS Shoes, puts it best when he writes on the Web site, “I created TOMS with a singular mission: To make life more comfortable. TOMS accomplishes this through its unique shoe and my commitment to match every purchased with a donated pair to a child in need.” The ingenuity of the company is that though it is technically a for-profit establishment, they have a non-profit component. Friends of TOMS is the in-house partner/non-profit wing that just became a legitimate IRS-approved non-profit organization. Employees of TOMS make, design and sell the shoes to the consumers through the online store or participating retail stores. Friends of TOMS then donates a pair of shoes to children in need. The company has already donated 10,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina. In October of 2006, Mycoskie and a team of TOMS employees went back to the villages he had originally visited and orchestrated a “shoe drop,” where they provided footwear for the children. They mingled with the locals and put the shoes on the children’s feet. Mycoskie and other employees are going to South Africa next month to do another shoe drop. They also plan to have other shoe drops throughout the world, including more in South America and some in lower income areas of the United States. More companies need to be installing similar practices within their organizations. It is so simple to provide consumers with services and goods, as TOMS Shoes does, while simultaneously giving back to those in need by freely providing underprivileged people with the same services and goods. The shoes are made of simple canvas and are available in a wide variety of colors and patterns. The shoes are based on traditional Argentine shoes. Originally, Mycoskie went to Argentina to learn how to play polo. While Mycoskie was there, he was touring local villages and noticed that most Argentinean children spent their days running around without shoes on, making them susceptible to injury and disease. Upon his return home to the United States, Mycoskie decided he wanted to do something to improve the lives of the Argentinean children he saw running around barefoot. He didn’t want to stop there, though, and was determined to provide shoes to children in need all over the world. Thus, TOMS shoes was born. Mike Hammer, the Intern and College Initiatives, said that TOMS is also planning to focus in on combating Mossy Foot, a debilitating condition found mostly in rural districts in Ethiopia. In these areas, volcanic soil is deposited under the ground and it causes boils and swelling in the feet and calves of those who work in the fields. He said the goal is to donate 100,000 pairs of shoes by tspring of 2008. Hammer, who has worked for TOMS since February 2007, said that working for such an innovative company has changed his life. “When all of your passion and desire is completely enabled, you hit this efficiency and growth that is unlike anything else,” he said. Pepperdine senior Andrew Simmerman is an intern, or Sole Brother, for TOMS. He applied online, initially looking for a company where he could put his advertising major and passion for service to good use. Like Hammer, he feels that TOMS is a revolutionary organization that is serving a greater good by having both for-profit and non-profit aspects. “If you could imagine every clothing brand donated clothes to people who couldn’t afford them, or every grocery store donated food to people who couldn’t afford it, how much better would this world would be?” Simmerman said. “TOMS is a direct way to pursue passion in business.” TOMS has created an easy way for consumers to serve themselves by scoring a great pair of shoes while serving others through an organization that donates shoes for a fantastic cause. As Simmerman noted, if all business executives conducted their organizations in this way, by serving their consumers in the best way possible while also giving back, how much better would this world be?
11-01-2007