Thinking Globally: Toms Shoes

Ever since reading Thomas Friedman’s THE WORLD IS FLAT, I have been more aware of “globalization”. Ever since I took a course in college from Buckminster Fuller I have been aware of the distribution of wealth, poverty and resources and that the “Spaceship Earth” would reach its limits. Somewhere studying bioscience I learnt to “think globally and act locally” as recommended by the great microbiologist Renee Dubos. Today I got a glimpse of a working example of all of the above.

When you walk into the HQ of TOMS SHOES (www.tomsshoes.com) you see a chaotic warehouse with a lobby decorated floor to ceiling with photographs of smiling kids, and drawings of shoes made by kids. The conference room has the detritus of ideation on its flip boards as well a few pairs of colorful, casual, canvas shoes scattered around the table. The new line is being designed I am told by Candice Wolfswinkle, the newly hired executive in charge of the FRIENDS OF TOMS Foundation, who was kind enough to spontaneously show me around.

Referring to a warehouse half full of TOMS Shoes, in a wide variety of styles, she explains how fulfillment moved from a small apartment to this warehouse and is now being moved offsite to a fulfillment center to keep up with the demand. The warehouse is now being used for office space. Desks are lined up in two ragged rows separated by makeshift curtains hung form the high ceiling. No one seems to mind the décor. A cadre of interns and employees seem to be happily at work designing, manufacturing and selling casual shoes so that they can give them away to children that need them.

Since Blake Mycoskie founded TOMS SHOES in February 2006, he has stuck to one basic principle, sell a pair of shoes and give a pair to a child who needs one, in person. So simple it works. Inspired by an inexpensive, casual shoe style he saw being worn while on vacation in Argentina, in juxtaposition with an overwhelming number of impoverished shoeless children, Blake had the idea and started his company to provide shoes for tomorrow for kids. Tens of thousands of pairs later, Blake and TOMS shoes have been featured in PEOPLE, TIME, Vogue and Oprah Magazine. With no qualifications from the fashion business, Mr. Mycoskie is fast approaching shoe mogul status as the department store orders have spiked demand.

“We tried to get them made in Argentina.” Says Candice, however the factories just weren’t up to our labor and quality standards.” So you guessed it, the shoes are manufactured in China, so that they can be sold in the USA so that thousands of pairs can be shipped and fitted to children in impoverished areas in South America, South Africa and even back in the USA. Turns out a pair shoes can make a great deal of difference. You might need them to attend school and to prevent crippling infections.

I am greatly impressed by the evident sense of purpose that permeates the Santa Monica based HQ and former warehouse, by the difference this simple plan is making in tens of thousands of lives, and by the shear globalizing randomness of the idea. I am inspired to give something back myself should I be fortunate enough to come up with an idea as good as this.