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Toms footwear has determined its signature charity sounded better on paper. It’s officially retiring “One for One,” a program in which it donated one pair of shoes to a person in need for every pair purchased.
Toms became a pioneer of charitable commerce when it launched “One for One” in 2006. It’s donated over 95 million shoes since then...with mixed results.
- Fellow retailers including Warby Parker and State Bags adopted the Toms giving model.
- But critics in journalism and fashion have questioned the program’s integrity for years, saying it ignores solving problems like poverty or education in favor of...giving out shoes or, later, glasses and backpacks.
Now, Toms says it will donate one-third of net profits to its giving fund. It’s a compromise that a) keeps the company’s philanthropic bent while b) filling the hole all those free shoes had eaten into Toms’s bottom line.
Because Toms can’t afford to give that much. It’s got a $307 million loan due in October 2020. Rumors have circulated that Bain Capital wants to sell its 50% stake in the company as well.