TOMS Shoes: Somebody should've done The Value Plan...

Back in 2011, I met the CEO of TOMS Shoes, Blake Mycoskie, at a school event. I recall thinking what a great social enterprise TOMS Shoes was, completely sold on their story and advertising campaign of "One for One" (buy one shoe, give one to a child in need). This campaign was the fuel to their big initial success, grabbing the hearts and minds of young people, like myself, who wanted to be part of something bigger than themselves. 

Here's a video about "One for One":

Fast forward a few years later, I realized that "One for One" was nothing more than a well-intentioned, yet misled sustainable marketing campaign. TOMS Shoes soon became under public scrutiny, when further research revealed that their donation of shoes to developing countries was in actuality causing local shoe makers to lose business (see below).

With a growing number of people realizing TOMS shortcomings in producing true social value, TOMS reacted to this through their "Beyond One for One" campaign. This included a breakdown of the number of jobs and amount of social value they produce to offset the externality of their "One for One" campaign.

(http://www.toms.com/beyond-one-for-one)

Although TOMS can be commended for their attempt to respond to the public scrutiny, it is still up for debate about whether or not they are producing more harm than good. It may also have been a little too late to change the negative views of their "One for One" campaign as seen by the many negative comments on the first YouTube video I presented.

As sustainable and responsible marketers, it is important for us to think critically and deeply as to what possible externalities businesses may unintentionally cause. The social value proposition must consider the effects on all direct and indirect stakeholders within the value system. Perhaps if TOMS Shoes properly performed "The Value Plan," they wouldn't have had to suffer the consequences from their current predicament. >__o ha..ha....