TOMS one-for-one

If you are following me on Twitter, then you know what I was up to at 12:30 today.  (If you aren't following me, what's wrong with you?!  Do it now!  Unless you're a spammer, then don't bother.)  Anyway.....

via

If you haven't been living on this planet the past couple of years and haven't heard of TOMS, the shoe company (signature style pictured above) donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased.  Today, TOMS reveled it's next chapter in their one-for-one giving.  No longer solely (pun intended) a shoe company, TOMS is now a one-for-one company.

A number of stores throughout the country were given large, locked tubes to display in their store.  Today at 10:30 PST, Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS, announced the contents of the tube and TOMS reps unveiled it's contents in all of the stores at that time.

  

(pics from my phone)

Yup, their new one-for-one movement is sight.  For every pair of TOMS sunglasses purchased, someone in Nepal, Cambodia or Tibet (for now) will receive the eye care he or she needs, be it prescription glasses, medical treatment or sight saving surgery.  This is more than just giving someone a pair of shoes, this is saving their vision!  Think of how much beauty they would be missing!  (Ahem, my blog, to name an example.)

What an exciting new avenue for businesses to learn a model of giving, while still growing in revenue.  You can read the entire story about TOMS eyewear here and see my favorite pair here.  (They looked really good with my skin tone.  I think this will be a definite purchase in the near future!)

Do you own a pair of TOMS shoes and will you be purchasing their eyewear?

P.S. - Warby Parker has a similar initiative that I wrote about here.  I really admire these companies that are making a difference in the world, with one fashionable accessory at a time!