CNN Living: August 23, 2010
People Magazine - August 16, 2010
TOMS Women's Red Bridgeport Linen Classics Featured in People Magazine
InStyle Magazine - July 2010
TOMS Women's Navy Stripe Calypso Wedges Featured In Korea's InStyle Magazine
Rogue Magazine: July 2010
California Dreamer
If you are fed up with blatant consumerism and the idea of fashion for the sake of nothing, then this California -based company's lovable slip-on shoes are right up your alley. With a business model as earnest as the shoe's simple but marvelous design, TOMS, with its one-for-one principle, is a refreshing take on an industry obsessed with want. In this exclusive Rogue interview, founder Blake Mycoskie explains the philosophy behind his brand and tells L.A. Consing Lopez what drove him to start this company with a conscience-as well as what it' s like to walk in his canvas shoes.
TOMS HAS BECOME QUITE THE GLOBAL RETAIL PHENOMENON - KIND OF LIKE “THE LITTLE SHOE THAT COULD”. HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN?
I was down in Argentina a few years ago on vacation, just having fun - playing polo of all things, actually, and at a cafe I heard a couple of girls speaking English. So I went up to them, and they explained to me that they were doing volunteer work, specifically a shoe drive. They were basically getting wealthy people to give slightly used shoes and collecting them to give to children in areas where they didn't have the shoes needed to go to school. I was extremely surprised to hear that the kids needed shoes that badly and that kids were not being allowed to go to school because they didn't have shoes. When I thought about it that night, I didn't want to just write a check and make a donation- because, if I did that, the kids would just get a shoe once . . . and my financial contribution would only be a very temporary relief.
IS THIS WHERE THE PHILOSOPHY AND BUSINESS MODEL BEHIND TOMS SPRUNG FROM?
I thought, well, what if you had a situation where you could create a business instead of a charity? Where for every pair of shoes you sold you gave one away. That way, you had something you could continue and sustain. I was really into this idea of sustainability ... that way when the kids' feet grew or the shoe wore out, it would become our way to continue to give them new ones, as well as allow our customers to continue to participate in the movement. So instead of a charity, I started a business encompassing a one-for- one model where you buy a pair and we give a pair. Very simple. Totally transparent.
IN TERMS OF MARKETING, YOUR EFFORTS ARE ALMOST NONEXISTENT - IT'S ALL VIRAL AND WORD OF MOUTH. IS THIS SOMETHING YOU INTENDED FROM THE BEGINNING?
The only way we could afford to give away a pair of shoes was if our customers became our marketers. So if you bought a pair and told someone, then they told someone, then someone wrote an article about it, and a hundred people read it and so forth . . .that's really the only way this model could work, and that's how it's worked so far.
THE FEEDBACK IS AMAZING,AND IT'S BECOME QUlTE A STATEMENT IN STYLE. DO YOU HAVE ANY BACKGROUND IN SHOES OR FASHlON?
No background in shoes or fashion design, but I've started several different companies-and I've always had a very keen awareness of the importance of great design and the simplicity of design. When I sold shoes as a vehicle to help relieve suffering in people's lives, I didn't really see shoes as a fashion item or think I was going to be a shoe designer. I just started looking at things that inspired me whether it was artwork or fashion and I just incorporated it. For the first two and a half years, I did all the designing myself. It was just last year when we hired a full-time designer. I've been able to experiment with a lot of things that have always inspired me and put that into design.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL SENSE OF STYLE? ANY LOOK IN PARTICULAR THAT YOU'RE DRAWN TO?
My sense of style has always been a bit eclectic. One day I'll have this crazy sweater on, like a Navajo print ... or maybe a lot of vintage stuff .. simple denim shirts and things you can wear on safari or out in the field. I'm not really a big fashion person, having the latest or greatest of what's come out. I live in L.A., so just lots of T-shirts, board shorts, and jeans.
WHAT'S THE MOST REWARDING PART OF THE WHOLE THING?
The most rewarding part really is the Shoe Drop. It is also the most fun. I get to take family and friends and have life -changing experiences with them, while giving shoes all over the world. Every time you give someone a pair of shoes, you get this huge smile. You get a kid so stoked that they got a pair- so if you do a Shoe Drop where each individual might give over a hundred
kids their first pair of shoes on that day, you get a hundred amazing moments. That gets you high like you can't believe.
DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR ASPIRlNG ENTREPRENEURS WHO WANT TO DO SOMETHlNG IN THE SAME VEIN AS TOMS?
I think the biggest advice I could give is "just do it." If you have an idea, if you have a passion, don't wait. The timing is never right. Life is too short not to do what you love. And I found out that when you do what you love- especially something that's good for the world-you usually find a way to make it work.
