A pair for a pair, Toms shoes the world

Toms shoes and espadrilles are not just stylish outfit accessories. They have a far nobler goal. For each pair sold, Toms will provide a barefoot child from a poor family with shoes. And that it really works is proven by the fact that the brand has provided more than 60 million children worldwide with shoes so far!

But let's go back to 2006, because this is when the story begins. Blake Mycoskie was a twenty-nine-year-old man who had just started his fourth startup. Despite the experience he had gained in business throughout the years, he still felt that it wasn't the thing he wanted most. That his life mission was something else. And bet it was. On his vacation in Argentina, where he travelled at that time, he managed to look inside his soul and get to know his true self. He decided to visit this beautiful South American country as a mission to explore the country's culture. He learned tango, played polo and in between that, he was sipping the national Malbec wine. He noticed that almost everyone he encountered wore special shoes on their feet, the so-called alpargata. And at this very moment, a business idea was born in Blake's mind. What if he introduced these interesting and unusual alpargata to an American customer?

 

„I've seen these incredibly versatile shoes everywhere: in towns, farms, and nightclubs."

And because the fate wanted it, Blake met an American girl volunteering for the so-called shoe drive in an Argentinian coffee shop. She explained that even in a fairly developed state like Argentina, one could find a child whose parents don't have enough money to buy them shoes. Not only do they face a number of illnesses due to the absence of footwear, but also commuting to school is complicated for them. Shoe drive is therefore in charge of collecting shoes that people no longer need, and donating them to the barefoot people. Although it is a useful activity, it often happens that shoes are too big for children's feet. And despite all this help, some children still remain barefoot.

Seeing the consequences of poverty with his very own eyes, it tore Blake's heart apart. But he decided not to leave it like that. At first, he thought he could set up his own charity. But then there was a turning point: why not create his own business and, thanks to its profits, help those who need it?

„I will establish a company producing alpargata shoes. And for each pair I sell, I'll make another pair for poor children.“

Sell one couple today, give another couple away tomorrow. A perfect concept that was only lacking the name. Blake derived TOMS from the phrase "Shoes for a better tomorrow". It's basically a simple shortening of two words - Tomorrow's Shoes. This brand is not about the founder, but about the promise he himself gives to people.

The success came immediately afterwards! Blake managed to sell ten thousand pairs of shoes just in the first year. An article about the story of Toms soon appeared in the Times, and after that, the previously just common Argentinian canvas became literally a hot fashion that magazines like Vogue, People, and Elle wrote about.

In addition to providing shoes to children, Toms is also actively devoted to helping children with visual problems, helping to ensure clean and drinking water in six countries around the world, and participating in education on safer childbirth.