Where is toms manufactured

Personal interview. Three Cups of Tea. Timmerman, Kelsey. TOMS Shoes official store. World Vision. If it is a market in Africa why would you call it a Black Market? Yes I attend Warner Pacific. My problem with your argument again is that you offer zero solutions. It seems that you are great at pointing out corruption, shortcomings, and other problems. Yet when it comes to solutions you offer; love, cultural integrity, and little else.

My friend is leaving for the Horn of Africa in a month. Unfortunately, this region now requires military intervention. There is a famine happening there. A famine is defined as 6 out of every 10, people starving to death daily within a region. Would love and cultural integrity help those starving children? Then what are you offering up here? Your whole paper focuses on corrupt individuals from charitible organizations.

Great we know they exist. How about the corrupt governments in these affected areas? How do they propose to improve their situations? They have had decades and yet somehow they have failed to counteract mother nature and the extreme lack of rainfall in the region. So warlords reign supreme and steal the aid sent by outside agencies. That really sounds like a culture worth preserving. What is happening is they are sending the Army over to Djubuti and the Army is comprised of engineers and security forces interested in preserving life.

It is odd to me that somehow you think love and hard work would somehow do the same thing as American tax money and efforts. You live there part time and are still so clueless. Band-Aid that. This nonprofit religious effort is making some radical change in the world.

What are some others that you have found? I will research this one. My solution it seems you have not read my paper , is to give logically. I did not mention the government of Africa because that is not the focus of my paper. The focus of my paper is showing what our money is doing.

The government would be an out-group, yes. After reviewing it with my teacher I have decided to add the government as an out group and cut back the the pathos a bit. My Dad fought in the war when Rhodesia what is now Zambia and Zimbabwe split up. He was then a mercenary for Somalia right after. Where have you gained your knowledge? From Europe and your friend who is going to Africa but not quite yet?

If our country and america are so bad stop using my tax dollars and education system Tim. Kelsey actually agreed with all your points just saying. Oh, and please, get over american slavery it went on for thousands of years all over the World before it happened here, it makes me sick hearing all about the injustices i caused that happened hundreds of years ago. I was told i was sexist and racist just toda y by a lady because she made a mistake and her purchase was taking time pull mind you Im latino and female, and no one helping her was a white male.

There are stupid glutinous, entitled people everywhere. There are some amazing, maybe uneducated, but good intentioned people here to. Tim I am glad that your instructor convinced you of the same shortcomings that I alluded to in your paper.

This whole conversation string was started concerning Toms Shoes. Whatever personal attacks or shame that you feel due to shared affiliations are completely unnecessary. You are one voice among the seemingly endless throngs of people that like to tear people down for their efforts, that like to illustrate problems without offering solutions, that believe that by somehow creating awareness of corruption they are actually helping people.

He did though. He is a million shoes in and….. People are slamming him, asking to see his books, pointing to corruption in manufacturing et al. My question to those people and to you my young older than five year old son of a mercenary friend is what have you done?

Have you done anything even remotely close to what he has done? If the answer is no what gives you the right to disparage anything about Toms Shoes or Blake Mycoskie? Remember you chose to call me out on here you even googled me. If you feel diminished by my responses to your ineffective drivel, that is on you.

I recognize that I am just smart enough to know that I am average and to be upset about it. I hope to one day emulate them not take anonymous shots at them because their efforts have been bastardized by unsavory characters in Africa. There is so much I wanted to say after reading All of these posts. This post by you, LaJames could not have hit my points better. I will sit down with you any old time! Thank you, Lola. I googled you because you openly invited people to. And I think you have a different view point on what we as a human race should drive to do.

So many people drive to end poverty, so many complain about it. The problem is, charities have been around like this for years. Currently I am working with the SIFE business group here at Warner, where I hope students here can realize I am someone who they can depend on when it comes to solving the problem in Africa. I would like to start a loan program in Africa that actually gives stability to families, not a flimsy pair of shoes on a kids feet.

I feel if we help the adults get jobs, give loans to stimulate the economy, poverty will start being solves. Now that is my main goal in life. Other than that I make personal relationships with people in Africa, I am trying to build a base for what I want to do both here in America and in Africa.

I feel Blake is too business orientated, I feel his goal is to make money, not help the poor. TOMs only produces a temporary anser, like I said. I have just now gotten done with my paper, edited and all. If you shoot me your email I will gladly send it to you. Keep in mind I will only drink socially. Whatever you meant with the arguments you gave, I forgive you for any uneasiness you caused in side me.

Just angry blames on TOMs shoes and such that I know to be true. Now that I have relaxed from the anger un-wise giving causes inside of me, I feel I have enough logic in my paper to present you with a true argument.

I am a Man of God, but in any area of charity, morals should be used. That is ultimately what I think. And I do not believe TOM adhers to any kind of fair play. It will make its money off of unwise giving, and the company is happy. Good job to Blake for being succesful, its poor of him he did it in such a typical manner.

I would like to set the rare standard of using practised, strong morals in the way I use my business major within Africa. Have you been to a Third World country recently. This summer we took and trip to Honduras. With us we brought several suitcases of goodies to hand out including shoes.

At the clinic, everyone was allowed to pick one item. Guess what was taken first? You got it…. The fact of the matter is that very few people in these countries have shoes, and to top it off, they walk everywhere. Next time buy a few bags of locally made goodies like shirts, shoes, food, etc. He never had shoes growing up. Even now he hates wearing them because he says they hurt his feet. He used to take the shoes provided by charities and his mother would sell them, because they were more useful for that than for covering feet.

What I do to solve poverty is give as much as I can. And do NOT get on people for criticizing something like this. People should be critical of TOMS and other similar kinds of companies. They absolutely should. Socks were invented for a reason. The even sadder part is that they are so out of touch with how much richer they are than the rest of the world, that they think giving away a few pairs of shoes is defendable as goodwill. So you feel good about yourself.

They need help, an ongoing regime of treatment and social care to help them return to society as a healthy and contributing individual. You are merely another commenter on a site that offers zero by way of solution. You use arguments that possess not a single fact but rather, a litany of opinions guised as truth. Where are you gathering your information? Your own observation? What have you done? Please educate us further oh wise and wonderful Fiona. LaJames Wilson. This post has stuck with me ever since the fitst time I read it and considered buying a pair of toms.

I think that it is a great thing if these shoes are going to who they are going to but not if it is at the expense of others which is said to not be the case in a lot of these posts and I believe on the toms website. I hope this makes sense. Just to finish off I find it hilarious how toms are so popular now but when they first began reps came to my friends school and everyone thought they were weird but now everyone there wears them….

Africa needs bigger things to happen other than Americans handing out free give-a-ways and causing dependency. Whole governments need to leave Africa alone, and let them be an independent nation.

I think we should set up temporary help by actually telling them how they can survive, and then get the heck out. Where is the incentive for them? After they get free shoes, what else will they expect. All us Americans make our own living, why should Africa not be allowed to make their own living? America is not the only one either, check what China is up to in Africa:.

The eye wear initiative is fantastic. Are the workers getting a living wage? If TOMS could address the points that Mike previous poster made on their own website then skeptics can be proved wrong! This post seems like nothing more than a jealous rant. You said the real problem is poverty. By giving the children shoes he is allowing them to be able to go to school which, in the long run, will greatly improve the poverty level in Ethiopia.

This is a classic case of giving poor people a fish and not teaching them how to fish? What are you teaching them? You think you are teaching your readers? We all know the world is messed up. We all know there is abject poverty everywhere on the globe. Self reliance is another big things with you snobby self appointed educators of us shallow Americans. Do you want these people to be self-reliant? Then they need to educate themselves. What is required to attend school in most of these areas?

Get off of your high horses. Until then? Write a whole lot of nothing which you are already doing. Take this opportunity to shut up. Yeah, its true that shoes will one wear out eventually. Yes, if the parents had a job they would be able to pay for shoes for a long time.

BUT its the fact that you gave something to someone out of self- lessness. A small act of kindness can make anyone smile. No matter how big or small the donation is it will HELP! AND as for fionas comment of the homeless person scenario its up to that person what they want to do with that money.

Maybeeven eventually from their good education get a job. A company that does this well is sseko. TOMS does not give once, they give repeatedly. When kids grow out of their shoes, TOMS comes back and puts new shoes on the feet of those same kids. Also, TOMS shoes are just the beginning. Love that you guys are so passionate about and helping others that seems to be the common theme in this whole discussion. However, Someone posted that people buy these shoes as a selfless act to help others.

Not so! People buy these shoes because because they are trendy. Its trendy to help others, and you are wearing you act of kindness on your feet.

I would love to know the percentage of people who send toms money without expecting anything in return. Im positive it exist, but the percentiage is very small. I also think its sad that we are nailing the guy that is trying to do good that wrote this post to the wall, because he pointed out a flaw in Toms model.

With all of that said, It looks like every person on here has a passion for Good no matter which side of the discussion you are on, and that is very encouraging. Would you not want somebody coming in to help get you an education, rather than hand you a pair of stylish shoes? Create jobs for the people in Africa is what I say, and then leave them the hell alone. America needs to back off, and let countries figure things out themselves. Fuck all of you! Stop worrying about what toms does!

At least the guy is trying to make a difference, you have to start somewhere. Post what youve done to help a stranger, if anything doubt it and i bet theres someone out there that will put down you and what you did for some stupid reason. Your bs comments on a blog arent going to change the toms company. So stop talking shit about toms and focus on how your going to remove your head from your ass. And I feel like the TOMS supporters who comment here are not expressing themselves nearly as intelligently as the opposition.

Donate money to a charity that actually gives lasting solutions to problems, not temporary fixes. Just sayn. I agree with quite a few of the comments here. He cannot simply wave his magic wand and create jobs and give education to all people in need.

Not wearing shoes can be very dangerous to your health and have very serious problems over time. He is trying to fix that in a small way. One man cant fix everything. Does it really have any difference? Carla — I apologize for being a 17 year old high school student who likes wearing TOMS, agrees with their cause and cant write comments on a form as maturely as a 40 year old angsty woman can.

It seems like the only way you can really insult those who agree with TOMS message is to insult them and call them stupid. I think that everyone here who is in support of TOMS sounds absolutely fine. It is irrelevant to the discussion. She is simply pointing out that some people perhaps are missing the point.

But ignorance is an equal opportunity. It is a choice. And I agree with Tsamary. There are simply too many people on this blog who are stating their opinion in an angry manner and not supporting it. Wowwhatlosers, it is unfortunate that is both your name and your style of arguing.

I hope you realize that the people who are raising their voice against Toms are people who care. No, it looks like you are helping people out so you can get the glory, while it is teaching people in Africa nothing about how they can start fighting for their own survival. If we are to help and treat Africa, we should go in their, diagnose the true problem, inform them how they can keep it going, and pull out. We should not linger around with our large American corporations hoping to make an extra buck.

Also, wowwhatlosers, I do and will help people in need. This will provide money for people to start businesses there, so they can provide for themselves and then help others in their own community provide for themselves too.

I would not be disabling them with a pair of Toms, where they expect the Western culture to always comfort them with goodies. I would be demanding they take action, and giving them an opportunity to do so. When they do get money, it comes free. Start thinking, and start arguing. I have yet to hear a good argument that actually defends Toms with knowledge. Nothing is going to fully solve poverty. And due to that they are at risk of getting diseases and infections? What are all of you doing?

Not donating money to organizations or charities or buying TOMs shoes. Kelsey makes some good points, but I agree that somebody has to start somewhere. I suggest that he start reopening some of the closed-down shoe factories in this country and provide jobs for Americans. I plan on buying my first pair of Toms this spring because I wear a small ladies size shoe and Toms are made small and narrow enough to fit my feet. Fifty-four bucks for a pair of shoes is cheap to me because my size costs three times that much.

And I can feel good about helping a kid overseas, but I would feel better if the shoes I bought were made here. If you really want to help the world… you help the world. I wont pay that much for anything that looks homemade. Your article wrote wonderful, I continued attention. Here allow me to recommend my shop,gfhiu3rgeui thank you very much!

Complete your basketball gear with your favorite NBA team cap. Thank you for writing such a balanced piece. However there is something missing here. There are plenty of children out in the US that do not have resources to adequate anything. Just wondering. Interesting read, and you brought up valid points. I agree that there are ideas on the poverty problem throughout the world, and many worthwhile efforts that need monetary support to help these people lift themselves up and build a better life.

The way I look at it, I have to have a pair of shoes. I might as well spend that amount to effectively buy two pairs one that goes to a kid in need. Hanson takes one-mile barefoot walks with fans usually before concerts to promote awareness of AIDS and poverty. Hanson donates one dollar in the Take The Walk campaign for each walker to support access to medical care, medical treatment, shoes, clean water and education.

In the walks, they help donate pairs of shoes in partnership with TOMS. We know that AIDS is treatable and we have an opportunity to do something about it. We sell these shoes as a part of our tour and, for every pair of shoes that is sold TOMS will send a pair of shoes to Africa.

Hanson has gone further than just selling shoes to bring awareness out about the basic needs that many Africans go without. As a promotion for their new album and the program with TOMS shoes, Hanson invites concert goers to join them on a barefooted mile walk before the show, to show them what people in less fortunate nations experience on a daily basis, Taylor Hanson said.

As you mentioned, TOMS could do better, but their model has inspired many more individuals to improve upon it in varying arenas, including myself. Poverty and injustice are complicated issues.

Thanks for bringing these issues to light. Pays a couple bucks for manufacturing both pairs, keeps the rest.

Then gives a pair of shoes to a charity. Does anybody know? I love the model but, I think that your post gets at that something that was missing. Very interesting post. Thank you!

All is good in theory, but when documentation shows the company to not appear as transparent as they claim to be, questions should be raised. I praise you, Kelsey, for your insight, research, and cool head. But you are pursuing a wonderful, thought provoking and important issue, and I thank you.

I will continue to follow your efforts and will share your posts on Facebook. Top link on Google too, bravo! Much obliged, Kelley E. Dellafave Houston, TX. We can only guess. By the way, everybody, I still read all of your comments here. I want TOMS to do better and lead the way in ethical sourcing.

I have reason to believe that they are moving in this direction. Great provoking thoughts. I think we should learn to address the basic symptoms before they lead to a bigger problem. Good piece. Power Flushing in Essex. Radiators cleaned and system efficiency restored in Chelmsford, Colchester, Basildon, Brentwood and Southend.

Commercial Power Flushing Services throughout Essex. So he thought about it and decided that he could help out. Did Blake say that he was going to end poverty or change the world. I think our frustrations can be directed at much more negative causes. If everyone on here that leaves negative comments about Toms is doing something far better than Blake with their time, then I guess I am wrong.

I am not even defending Toms. I am just tired of everyone criticizing people who are at least trying to make the world a better place. Is supporting Walmart a better idea than Toms? Just curious. You really hit the nail on the head with your comment. Yet whenever one guy comes out with one idea to make a change no matter how small people view that change , people want to tear them down. Walmart promotes unemployment in America more than any other entity yes even NAFTA so the suggestion to buy shoes there is laughable.

The shoes you buy at Walmart are made in third world countries by companies that had to move their production facilities out of America in order to be able to afford to sell at the Walmart mandated prices, that their competitors sell at or face extinction. So that was a joke. These people stand in judgement while wearing shoes from a sweat shop, while standing in line at McDonalds and tweeting from their Iphones. Imagine McDonalds donating a Happy Meal obsiously in the form of something less perishable like rice to children on the Horn of Africa for every one they sold.

Imagine a laptop to an inner-city school for every laptop sold. How about a malaria net for a child in Africa for every 25 Angry Bird downloads. Spalding doing a BOGO for soccer balls. People need to see the bigger picture.

Does Blake make a tidy profit from this venture? I am sure that he does. Does that mean his model should be descredited by the masses? In fact the world would be a better place if Corporate America was to emulate his model. Taking shots at Blake is akin to placing blame on a box of tissue for your runny nose whilst ignoring the fact that you have Pneumonia.

I appreciate your argument about Toms shoes and I think much of what you say is valid. However, I do not think that this automatically means that people should not buy Toms shoes or that this company does not have value.

It is an imperfect model, I admit, but I think that part of the point that Toms is making is that you can have a business that is about more than just making money. Yes, Toms is for profit, however I would imagine that part of the reason they are for profit is not because they want to make a ton of money; rather, i think it may also be a way to demonstrate to the business world that you can have a business model that is profitable that is also about helping other people.

The shoes you receive are definitely not the same quality as other shoes you could buy for the same price. I also think it is unfair to say that Toms uses poverty and the one for one idea to objectify the poor in order to capitalize on profits. I really do not think this is the case, and I do think that is an unfair assessment since their movement seems genuine, even if slightly misguided ideologically.

I am also glad their shoes are manufactured under what I hope are fair labor conditions, as they say on their website in some of the countries they give shoes to, providing jobs that I hope are good and respect human dignity. I do not think that Toms is the answer to all of these problems; however, in comparison to many other shoes one could buy on the market, which are made in what I presume in many cases are sweatshops and the only benefit people in that country gain from making these shoes despite meager wages is the probable return of these shoes after Americans have become bored with them.

Thus the people who made them are inheriting the very shoes they labored over after they have served their purpose for the wealthy Americans, their intended consumers. This, to me, is a much more dire and problematic situation.

I agree with your points, and I think it is important to express these concerns to Toms. However, I will still buy Toms shoes because I think they are a more ethical choice than what is currently on the market. One last note: it is also important for people to understand that the root of these troubles is the consumerism of American society that benefits from the third world.

We must tackle our own consumeristic tendencies, on an individual level, in order to have impact on situations such as these. Just some food for thought. Lots of good comments going on here. Unfortunately there should be about 20 different threads to address the range of topics being discussed. Topic 1: The Value Aspect Reading a lot of comments people confuse the companies good intentions being questioned with constructive criticism.

Example: If I clean ducks covered in oil. My intentions: get the oil off the poor birds. The issue is if I unknowingly used soap that was made of dead baby ducks to clean it. Point Being — My intentions were great, and the results were good on the surface, but is there room for improvement on the process. Yes… and pherhaps I need someone to point that out. Lots of comments about Toms needing to concentrate on the factories instead of the children. If you help the parents it supplies more money to the families who can then buy there own shoes.

If you supply the childeren with shoes and an education because of it. Eventually they will have better jobs and thus there familys will prosper… in theory. Anyways there are about a hundred layers to this blog and depending on which layer you decide to zone in on there are 20 topics in each. My 10 year old bought herself a pair with her christmas money and really felt good about it because she was helping another child.

The focus of the movement is supposed to be the improvement of the lives of poor people, and if in the long run the movement is not doing anything to alleviate the poverty that will still be there when the shoes wear out, then the movement is not helping, rather it is hurting.

Quit trying to boycott the company they give away school lunches and shoes. They do the best they can. Greedy people…. Greedy people… I mean really. Studies show that most people that read my blog think I look and sound like a passive aggressive schmuck.

As you consider this, know that I will ask questions like: What percent of people love me in China? How awesome would it be if TOMS did that. Thanks sooo much for writing in! At least give us the courtesy of being real. For whatever reason, you hate TOMS shoes. You love this other charitable organization.

I think both have their hearts in the right place. TOMS saw a need, lack of shoes, and is seeking to meet it. This other place saw more than just lack of shoes. Congratulations to both. Read this: There are so many self-righteous people out there!

They just go on and on about how perfect their actions are and how incorruptible they are. See how I just indirectly called you self-righteous, without saying it directly? I said it in a nice way, so I feel better about it even though what I did was just as mean as the very thing I convinced myself I was not doing. I think this is an interesting discussion. Most people feel very strongly one way or another about TOMS. I have to pose a question for everyone screaming about the social responsibility of TOMS though: Do you check the social responsibility of every product you buy?

Our supplier contracts provide that contracted factories must conduct business in full compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations and comply with the terms of the Supplier Code. In addition, these contracts specifically forbid the use of forced labor and prohibit discrimination or harassment in the workplace. Each factory is required to certify compliance with these terms and conditions prior to becoming an approved contracted factory.

In addition, to mitigate the risks of slavery and human trafficking at indirect suppliers, TOMS prohibits contracted factories from engaging subcontractors without the written permission of TOMS and a subsequent audit of the facility. TOMS also monitors its raw-material suppliers Tier 2 of the supply chain and employs an audit and remediation process at these facilities similar to those in Tier 1 factories.

Before conducting business with TOMS, each factory must undergo an unannounced factory audit. Our on-site process includes audits by our trained factory compliance auditors and third-party audit companies.

Issues such as health and safety, wage and compliance, forced labor, child labor issues, harassment-free workplace policies, and environmental issues are reviewed. The entire factory, including dormitories, if applicable, is audited. The auditors will interview groups of employees, as well as individuals, without management presence, to allow them to freely comment on their work conditions. Commencing in , anonymous factory employee surveys have been included as part of our audit process to increase transparency within our supply chain.

Audits also are performed annually and scored on a graded scale. Factories with a lower rating are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. A factory with persistent safety, health, or labor issues that fails to remediate these issues in an acceptable manner will be rejected as our supplier and will not be authorized to supply products for TOMS.

Auditing our suppliers helps to bring accountability and deliver credibility to the supply chain by providing a verification point and by helping us to understand the overall direction of improvement. However, audits are not an end in themselves, providing only a snapshot in time, and we believe work best as part of a broader approach to engagement, collaboration and continuous improvement.

TOMS has a zero-tolerance policy for violations involving any form of modern slavery. Vendors or factories found to be in violation of this policy will be immediately terminated. TOMS conducts annual global compliance training with its employees and the management teams of its key factories, focusing on monitoring the risk for modern slavery and adherence to the Supplier Code.

Our CSR Team and supply chain employees meet regularly with factories and key suppliers to reiterate TOMS' zero tolerance policy for suppliers who engage in modern slavery. They are also encouraged to utilize a compliance checklist when visiting factories, which helps to identify any issues which may require correction.

The company plans to start producing in India for sure, Mycoskie said, and wants to enter Brazil and Haiti, too. Then theres Ethiopia, where Mycoskie has previously tried to produce his wares.

This will be his third attempt to manufacturing in the East African nation, after the first two attempts failed. Mycoskie said the first factory he worked with in Ethiopia charged TOMS for one product but gave it another. The company was forced to sever both relationships. He said he also ran into some trouble with faulty electricity grids.