Toms celebrates 10 million milestone

Toms, the American footwear brand known for its canvas,

slip-on shoes and its ‘One for One’ principle, which means that it matches every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need, has reached its 10 million milestone.

Since 2006 the footwear brand, founded by Blake Mycoskie, has hand-placed over 10 million pairs of new shoes on children in need, in places such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Argentina and China, through its giving partners.

“When I started Toms, I knew nothing about shoes. I knew nothing about giving. But I knew I needed to help," said Mycoskie.  "Over the past seven years, Toms has grown faster than I ever imagined - and while we learned to give by giving, we weren't doing it as well as we could have”.  

In addition to supplying shoes to millions of children, Toms has also helped restore sight to 150,000 people all over the world, after they started selling a range of sunglasses using the same ‘one for one’ policy.

To celebrate the achievements, the accessories brand is hoping to hand-place another 10 million pairs on children in need, as well as produce more shoes locally to create jobs in places where they are needed. Currently the company is testing production in Indian and is looking to expand manufacturing in Africa and other regions.

Over the years, the brand has also teamed up with other not-for-profit organisations, such as Ben Affleck's Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP), Save the Waves and Movember to further their giving ambitions.

The company's chief giving officer, Sebestian Fries added: "We're seeing remarkable results with our Giving Partners' shoe giving and sight giving programs, but there's still much to do. New shoes are helping improve school attendance and enrolment, combined with screenings to combat malnutrition.   

“And our sight giving empowers communities and supports sustainable eye-care organisations in the developing world. We work with locally based organisations that train residents to provide professional care. So we're making an investment in clinics, people and even local jobs."