Sharing shoes with TOMS

Written by Aaron Skjerseth Monday, 24 November 2008 19:00

Blake Mycoskie has a lot of shoes. But they’re not all for him. Mycoskie has dedicated himself to giving shoes to underprivileged children across the world. Since 2006 TOMS Shoes, started by Mycoskie, has distributed over 60,000 pairs of shoes.

You may recognize Mycoskie from CBS’s Amazing Race, during which Mycoskie saw firsthand the children whom would benefit from TOMS. He received much of his inspiration while in Argentina.

“I was overwhelmed by the spirit of the South American people, especially those who had so little,” Mycoskie said.  “And I was instantly struck with the desire – the responsibility – to do more.”

TOMS operates by donating a pair of shoes for every pair that is purchased on their Web site, www.tomsshoes.org.  The shoes themselves were designed to appear like the Alpargatas, or traditional workers shoes of Argentina. These shoes are produced and manufactured in Argentia, providing work for the Argentineans.  

TOMS Shoes is run almost completely with volunteers and most of any profits are used for distributing the shoes. These volunteers not only work to promote TOMS, which hasn’t spent a penny on advertising, but also participate in delivering the shoes, or “shoe drops.”

A preacher of all things TOMS

Sara Litton, a senior majoring in management communication at NDSU is one of these very motivated TOMS volunteers. While Litton herself hasn’t had the opportunity to participate in a shoe drop, she works to promote TOMS as the NDSU campus representative.

A blog describing TOMS led Litton to the Web site. Soon she found herself fascinated by the site and the business. “Its very unique,” Litton said “A purchase I needed to make was going to give a kid a pair of shoes, a kid who had never had one before.&rdquo.

She left a comment on the site praising the company for its work. Shortly after that she was asked if she would like to be a campus representative for TOMS at NDSU.

There are two great things about the company that makes Litton such a passionate preacher of all things TOMS. The idea of putting shoes on kids who need them is a big one. “The shoes help prevent diseases picked up through their feet,” Litton said. In fact this is the main idea behind TOMS Shoes. They are not just for comfort but are preventing diseases, like Podoconiosis, which causes elephantitis of the lower limbs.  

The viral business plan is another major reason Litton feels so strongly about TOMS. The company volunteers, most of which are like Litton, often interning with the company, who have dedicated themselves to promoting the business online. Since its conception in 2006 TOMS has been talked about all over the Web and been covered by “People,” “Vouge,” “Time,” “Elle,” “O,” “Grazia” a British magazine, as well as many others.

This viral business backed by young interns shows “the power of the college aged,” Litton said.

The Vagabond Tour

Tonight, Litton along with Lambda Pi Eta, a communications honors society, are bringing the Vagabond Tour to NDSU.

At 6:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union’s Prairie Rose room, two volunteers from TOMS who have been traveling the Midwest visiting campuses, sleeping on couches and promoting TOMS will visit NDSU students. Litton herself will be putting up the volunteers in her home.

The event will offer participants a chance to not only purchase shoes themselves, but to design their own. The girls have been traveling with a truck-full of supplies to make this possible. There will also be a showing of footage of shoe drops and a discussion of the TOMS business model.