Toms launches fourth one for one product

Toms, best known for its footwear and its global one for one business model, which gives back to communities in need, is introducing a new product category, a bag collection to help address issues of maternal health worldwide.

Like with the shoes and eyewear, for every Toms bag purchased, the brand will help to provide a safe birth for a mother and baby in need in areas including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Haiti and India. This work will be done by a network of Toms Giving Partners, including the United Nations Population Fund, BRAC and ayzh who are involved in maternal and child health programs. In addition, Toms has selected Every Mother Counts as its maternal health advocacy partner.

The funds will help provide training for skilled birth attendants, along with a safe birth kit that includes vital materials like soap, gloves, gauze, a cord clamp, surgical blade and a clean surface, to help a woman safely give birth.

"After years in the field, I recognised a need for advancements in maternal health," said Toms founder, Blake Mycoskie. "So we developed a program with our Giving Partners to identify two key ways Toms can aid in safer birthing conditions.”

Toms launches bag collection in aid of maternal health

The Toms bag collection features three distinct lines including the Artisan, a travel-inspired line of hand-crafted, hand-beaded and hand-sewn bags, which draws on Toms’ employee's experiences as world travellers, and are lightweight, utilitarian, multi-functional in design.

While the Campus and Tech line is colourful and multi-textured, designed to carry computers, iPads, and tablets, with the key silhouettes including the tote, baby bags, bucket and the hobo crossbody, which will be available in canvas, leather and global prints. The collection ranges in price from 28 to 298 dollars.

Mycoskie added: “Being able to give in this way - one that helps save the lives of mothers and newborns - is incredibly special. The issue of maternal health is very close to my heart, as I just became a father this past December. I truly believe people around the world will be amazed at what these bags can do."

This marks the accessory brand’s fourth one for one model and follows on from the success of its commitment to match every pair of shoes purchases with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. To date, Toms has given over 35 million pairs of new shoes around the world.

In addition, its eyewear collection launched in 2011 has helped restore sight for over 300,000 people worldwide, and its premium coffee launched last year has already provided more than 67,000 weeks of safe water to communities in need in seven countries.

Image: Toms