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Responsible Marketing

TOMS Shoes: More than different

By October 9, 2008October 27th, 20215 Comments

TOMS Shoes was founded by Blake Mycoskie after a life-changing trip to Argentina. While there, he learned about the Alpargata soft shoe, but ironically, also met children in villages that had no shoes.

So he created a shoe company whose goals aren’t based on shoes sold, but on shoes given away. For every pair of TOMS shoes sold, the company donates a pair of shoes to a child in need.

Here’s a video of shoe drop in 2006:

In the video, the narrator made a comment worth repeating:

Anybody who’s starting a company. . .
Everybody who has an idea. . .
Incorporate giving in what you do

Nobody would have heard of TOMS if they weren’t doing good. Giving away a pair of shoes for every pair sold is more than just a differentiator—it represents a fundamental shift in the way to think about business.

Inspiring, isn’t it?

Has a business inspired you lately?

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Join the discussion 5 Comments

  • David says:

    TOMS inspired me to start a fan blog devoted to TOMS shoes.

  • Great information. I need to link back to you.

  • kuemi lee says:

    I saw your blog while searching Google. Very interesing article I must say. I will now share it with my facebook friends.

  • Randy xiao says:

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