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**TOMS SHOES** Delanie Billman - Tara Hanada - Hidemi Oshino - Christa Spillane - Stephanie Tang Source: Tara Hanada

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TOMS Shoes aims to provide shoes for people in need all over the world. By selling a pair of shoes, TOMS is able to also provide a new pair of shoes to a child in countries all over the world. There are several reasons TOMS has identified explaining why children need shoes. The first is that children often need to walk long distances to access water, receive medical help and to go to school. Children also must sustain their health which is made difficult when they often get cuts and sores from walking barefoot, or even worse, getting infections from diseases transmitted from soil into their feet. Schools often require children to have shoes in order to attend class so if children cannot afford shoes, they are stripped of the opportunity to get an education. By providing these children with a pair of shoes, they are also given the chance to achieve so much more in their lifetimes. With an education, these children can then make positive changes for themselves and their communities in the future.

Source: Tara Hanada The movement is called One for One™ which means each pair of shoes sold provides a pair of shoes for a child in need. As of September 2010, TOMS Shoes has provided over 1 million children all over the world with shoes and the number is rapidly growing. Here is a list of countries that TOMS works with: United States, Guatemala, El Salvador , Nicaragua , Haiti , Honduras , Peru , Argentina , Mali , Niger , Uganda , Rwanda , Burundi , Zambia , Swaziland , Lesotho , Ethiopia , South Africa , Malawi , Armenia , Mongolia , China and Cambodia. Shoes are distributed on an ongoing basis but TOMS also provides a unique giving experience through Shoe Drops. Shoe Drops are trips where staff, volunteers and other members of the TOMS family are able to travel to a country in need and personally give shoes to the local children.

Source: Tara Hanada TOMS Shoes is using many different methods to promote their cause and create a brand for themselves. From Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, to their products, TOMS is taking the world by storm. Because TOMS has products that people can wear daily, they have created free advertising; from shirts, to shoes, and even sunglasses. The appearances of the shoes are so recognizable that whenever a person wears them, others can usually tell that they are TOMS (and also know that the wearer’s money went towards a good cause). This is especially good PR when celebrities are seen wearing/promoting TOMS. Every TOMS-affiliated website, shoe box, and sunglasses case say “One for One.” This effectively incorporates their cause with their name and creates a brand— brand meaning how they appear to the world (their products, cause, and impact all combined), not just “TOMS®.” The popularity of the shoe increases the amount of fans online, and vice-versa. The Facebook page allows users to see who is benefiting from the “One for One” policy: not the founders or company, but the children who are now receiving shoes (shoes which help prevent the children from being infected by soil-transmitted diseases). April 5th, TOMS also created “The Day without Shoes,” and publicized through all their social media outlets, with the help of different clubs (SDSU has a TOMS club which also participated and promoted this day). Their website reports that “over 1000 events in over 25 countries were held worldwide.” This just goes to show how great of a following this company has! 

Source: Tara Hanada  [][|Twitter] [|Facebook] [|YouTube]

 In September 2010, TOMS Shoes gave away their one-millionth pair of shoes in Argentina. With the TOMS Shoes brand and cause only being around since 2006, one million shoes in a little less than four years shows that the cause has had great results so far. Consumers like the TOMS brand because they know that the money they spend goes to a good cause, one they can trust. Shoppers can feel as if they are giving back, all while buying a trendy shoe. The cause isn’t only giving the less fortunate pairs of shoes, but they are helping prevent disease and long-term illness’. This fact alone encourages buyers to purchase TOMS products and users keep coming back. TOMS combines business with charity, which has allowed TOMS to remain successful. People may think, “TOMS is just a trend,” but if the brand keeps producing products that people want and TOMS keeps giving shoes, the brand will continue to flourish. The only reason that this cause would ever backfire is if it is ever discovered that TOMS is not fulfilling their “One for One” policy. One of the banners on the TOMS website displays a quote by the creator, Blake Mycoskie, that reads “Giving is what fuels us. Giving is our future.” It is obvious that the creator of TOMS really does care about the cause because he puts helping the people before the actual business side of the brand. Mycoskie makes it a point to inspire young students and entrepreneurs to “help make tomorrow better,” according to the TOMS website. Source: Tara Hanada

References: http://www.toms.com/ https://www.facebook.com/toms //"The Story of TOMS Shoes - BIL Conference." BIL Conference - Minds Set Free. Web. 01 July 2011. .//  // "One for One Movement." TOMS. Web. 1 July 2011. . //