Redefining Capitalism: Buy One Give One

I’ve been in need of a new pair of shoes for a while now.  The pair I currently wear on a day to day basis hurts one of my feet just enough to be annoying, but not enough for me to switch shoes.  Most of the time I like to keep a pair about two years before switching out and have generally stuck to a couple brands I’ve really liked.  Also, I usually don’t like to spend a lot on shoes even though I wear them everyday.  I have a pair of sneakers for the gym, kicks for everyday and the dress shoes for appropriate times.  I like to keep it simple.

So at some point in the last year or two, I stumbled across a company called Tom’s Shoes .  What he does is run a company that when you purchase a pair of shoes from him, he donates a pair to a person in need somewhere in the world.  I highly recommend you go to the site and read through their blog.   There is something so beautiful, simplistic and amazing with this concept.  Tom is taking the idea of filling a need for those of us that need shoes and have money to buy the product, and yet it also provides a shoe for someone who cannot afford it.  While doing this he is making money, providing jobs for people and all the while being ecofriendly.

I believe in the basics of capitalism, but when you mix in human greed it can become so destructive.  The earths  resources get drained, the distance between the wealthy and the poor widens, we consume more then we produce getting ourselves in immense amounts of debt.  But, it also produces some of the best innovations, allows for anyone with an idea and hard work to succeed.  I think Tom’s approach to Buy One Give One, is an amazing concept that should be duplicated in many areas of business.  What if the grocery store gave away equal amounts of food that it sold to the hungry, or clothing stores gave away equal amounts of their sales to naked, or optometrists gave away “the extra pair free” to the blind.  Our spending, consumption and want habits are catching up to us, and in some cases already have with the way the economy has gone over the last year.  Will Tom solve the world’s shoe problem? Probably not, but he is helping a lot of people out, turning a profit, and not charging any outrages prices for his goods.

I think we as people need to start thinking about our spending habits, our levels of consumption and look for ways that we can use the business we are in to help out someone.

Oh and if you purchase a pair of shoes from Tom, use this coupon code: ShareTOMS .  It will get you $5 of your purchase, cutting the shipping in half.  I can’t wait for my pair to arrive!