Tom's Hooks Up with Bain to Accelerate Growth

Toms, the company that turned the idea of One for One into a global movement, signed with investment firm Bain Capital to accelerate growth of the company and its giving programs. Founder Blake Mycoskie continues as company visionary and retains 50% ownership. Founded eight years ago, it began as a shoe company that matched every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need – One for One. Since then, Toms' giving has grown to serve other basic needs. Its Eyewear gives sight to a person in need with every pair of eyewear purchased, and Its Roasting Co. gives one week of clean water to a person in need for every bag of coffee purchased. To date, TOMS has given over 25 million new pairs of shoes to children in need and helped restore sight to more than 250,000 people. Read more.

TOMS Restores Sight for 150,000

Blake Mycoskie, Founder and Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS, has announced that through its Giving Partners the company has hand-placed over 10 million pairs of new shoes on children in need and has helped give sight to over 150,000 people around the world, according to a company spokesperson.  The success of TOMS' One for One business model has led to a continued evolution of its Giving efforts, with the company having made major investments in its shoe manufacturing, economic empowerment and commissioned field research, and has developed product partnerships that have raised millions of dollars for non-profit organizations.   Read more.

Adler Designs Eyewear for TOMS

“TOMS, the Los Angeles-based shoes and eyewear brand, has teamed up with Jonathan Adler, the New-York based furniture and textiles designer, on a collection of sunglasses,” reports Fashion & Style. “This is the first time TOMS has collaborated with a designer on eyewearr, according to Women’s Wear Daily.” Read more.

TOMS Activating for World Sight Day

Preparing for  World Sight Day (Oct. 11), TOMS will align with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) to generate global awareness about  blindness, visual impairment and rehabilitation of the visually impaired. The charitable organization is trying to spread the word both online and offline through the creation of a dedicated microsite, and will be harnessing the power of social media and numerous events.  Online, TOMS supporters can go to www.TOMS.com/world-sight-day to learn more about this important issue and find out how they can personally participate.  Visitors can also download World Sight Day toolkits that include uniquely inspiring eye charts, and are invited to utilize a new hashtag, #GIVEsight, through social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  You too can generate awareness about the need to improve world vision. It could be a way of generating local publicity. Read more.

TOMS Runs Contest for One of Its Giving Trips

Bringing together the company, its customers, and its community, TOMS launched the TOMS Ticket to Give campaign. Only available at TOMS.com in the U.S., the online contest will select one lucky customer or fan each week to participate in a TOMS Giving Trip, according to Blake Mycoskie, founder and chief shoe and eyewear giver of TOMS (www.TOMS.com). Mycoskie is hoping to notify each of the first several winners in person and will be joining the winners on the first several Giving Trips. Previously available just to TOMS employees, the Giving Trips taken through the TOMS Ticket to Give program will enable winners to experience giving One for One™ first-hand.  Giving Trips are not vacations, but journeys into communities of incredible people and enormous need. They are hands-on, face-to-face journeys that, for those who are giving, are as much about personal transformation as positively impacting the lives of others.

Frat Teams Up with TOMS

The fraternity "Delta Gamma...has partnered with TOMS in 'The Great Fight for Sight,' a competition between DG chapters to sell eyewear to benefit visually impaired children across the globe," reports the Chrimson White."In the competition, which began Nov. 30 and will end June 22, each DG chapter is given a specific code to give to family and friends. When buying a pair of sunglasses from TOMS, using the promo code at checkout will credit the chapter. The two chapters that promote the most sales win $1000 to go toward a Service for Sight fundraising event, among other prizes." Read more.

Whitledge Named Creative Director for TOMS

"By now you're probably familiar with the fact that TOMS has taken its one-for-one initiative to sunglasses, but what you may not be up on is that the creative director behind the new shades is John Whitledge: founder of super-cool Cali brand Trovata," according to GQ. Read more.

Socially Conscious TOMS Now Offering Sunwear

"The socially-conscious clothing company recently launched a new line of very cool sunglasses that include classic metal and plastic frames," goes the post on MensFitness. "Along with this launch, TOMS has set up a One-for-One program where for every pair of sunglasses purchased, the company will help to restore sight to a person in need in one of three ways: Either they receive prescription eyeglasses, a thorough eye exam, or—in many cases—a 15-minute cataract surgery that completely brings someone back from almost total blindness." Read more.