Buddy J
19 Feb 2008, 11:39pm
I know I'm bordering on a shoe fetish thing here, but stick with me. I'm so pleased that I've gotta share with the Life crew.toms.jpg
I picked up a pair of TOMS shoes (http://www.tomsshoes.com/Default.aspx) Friday without really knowing what to expect, and was surprised to find them coming in well above my expectations. They're cheap shoes. Cheap shoes that I paid $48 for.
WHAT.
$48 for burlap slip-ons seems ridiculous. But, they're shoes with a cause. For every pair you buy, the company donates a pair to some kid in need somewhere in the world. There are thousands -- millions even -- of kids around the world that are barefoot and forced to face the elements with nothing to protect their toes. The company founder, former Amazing Race contestant and entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie, was empathetic of the shoeless kids he met while traveling the world, so he designed a shoe based off the traditional Argentenian alpargatas and created the give-away program. To date, Blake and his company have given away 50,000 shoes (http://tomsshoedrop.blogspot.com/). That's cool.
But aside from being cool, they're comfortable, with a hard rubber sole similar to Birkenstocks, a decent insole with arch support, and a soft cotton inner lining. Mine are burlap and look funky, but they're available in all sorts of colors, patterns, and materials. Just thought I'd share.
I picked up a pair of TOMS shoes (http://www.tomsshoes.com/Default.aspx) Friday without really knowing what to expect, and was surprised to find them coming in well above my expectations. They're cheap shoes. Cheap shoes that I paid $48 for.
WHAT.
$48 for burlap slip-ons seems ridiculous. But, they're shoes with a cause. For every pair you buy, the company donates a pair to some kid in need somewhere in the world. There are thousands -- millions even -- of kids around the world that are barefoot and forced to face the elements with nothing to protect their toes. The company founder, former Amazing Race contestant and entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie, was empathetic of the shoeless kids he met while traveling the world, so he designed a shoe based off the traditional Argentenian alpargatas and created the give-away program. To date, Blake and his company have given away 50,000 shoes (http://tomsshoedrop.blogspot.com/). That's cool.
But aside from being cool, they're comfortable, with a hard rubber sole similar to Birkenstocks, a decent insole with arch support, and a soft cotton inner lining. Mine are burlap and look funky, but they're available in all sorts of colors, patterns, and materials. Just thought I'd share.