My Paper on Toms Shoes

My Husband and I

Social Responsibility Audit of Tom's Shoes

The definition of social responsibility is taking a stance for helping the community or world by using the resources that are available. TOMS Shoes has made quite a name for itself in the past few years. Their mission as stated on their website is “With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need (tomsshoes.com)”. Not only do customers like the shoes that they make, they love the fact that they can give shoes to someone just by purchases a pair for themselves. “Since their beginning in 2006, TOMS has given over 400,000 pairs of shoes to children in need through the purchases of their caring customers (tomsshoes.com).”


This corporation has shown great social responsibility. The business started with this mission instead of adopting it over time as a marketing ploy. When TOMS shoes are searched on complaints.com, no results are found. This is encouraging because it shows that the customers that are buying their product are truly happy with the product as well as the results of their purchase. Not only do they give back to needy children but they also have a full line of vegan friendly shoes that “are made from a blend of recycled products, faux suede insoles and rubber outsoles (tomsshoes.com)”, which in turn gives back to the environment.


On their website, they also discuss why they chose shoes as a way to give back. “Most children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Walking is often the primary mode of transportation in developing countries. Children can walk for miles to get food, water, shelter and medical help. Wearing shoes prevents feet from getting cuts and sores on unsafe roads and from contaminated soil. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected. The leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted parasites which penetrate the skin through open sores. Wearing shoes can prevent this and the risk of amputation. Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don't have shoes, they don't go to school. If they don't receive an education, they don't have the opportunity to realize their potential (tomssshoes.com).”


The Los Angeles Times compiled an article about the company on April 19, 2009. The article discussed the entire organization but also spoke about how money is not the primary goal. “Candice Wolfswinkel, the chief giving officer, worked for free for a year until (Blake) Mycoskie (founder) could pay her. ‘He is not afraid to show his emotions to make sure people know they are appreciated,’ she says. Caroline Zouloumian, chief financial officer and a Harvard MBA, left the world of finance for Toms. ‘He’s not egocentric like some entrepreneurs are,’ she says… So far, the company has turned only a marginal profit. Mycoskie says he will have to sell about 1 million pairs of shoes a year to be really profitable… ‘The goal isn’t how much money you make,’ he says. ‘But how much you help people’ (LA Times, 2009).”


This company is setting a high standard for social responsibility. They give back in every way that they can. It is still a for-profit company, so they market their mission very heavily but this should not downplay the great service they are providing to these children and to their customers. They host events on Facebook and Myspace like “One Day without Shoes (tomsshoes.com)” to bring awareness to their cause. From a consumer prospective, it appears that they market heavily because they want people to know how easy it is for them to give back. If they order their pair online, they don’t even have to leave their house but they are still helping a needy child. Without TOMS shoes, 400,000 children would still have never received a new pair of shoes.

Sources

http://www.tomsshoes.com, date accessed 2/1/2010. Most information was found under the “our movement” tab.
LA Times. http://cdn2.tomsshoes.com/images/uploads/LA_Times_Newspaper_April19_2009-ab.jpg, date accessed 2/7/2010.