The shoe brand “Toms” had the courage to develop a new sustainable business idea. Its one-for-one way of selling products sparked a new trend that aims to create social value through donations for each item purchased. However, as its successful business model spread in other industries, many pointed out the clear inconsistencies related to the effectiveness of its charitable donations.
As Sharon Shamuyarira reports on her blog, businesses that make one-for-one donations to communities in need, fail to assess and operate at the root of the problem. Essentially, by donating pairs of shoes, Toms improves the conditions of needy individuals temporarily without any durable changes to their living condition. Most importantly, when relying excessively on the charitable initiatives of the company, the local development might suffer.
In contrast to the idea expressed on the blog, not all donations that follow this pattern fail to heal certain societal problems. For example, one-for-one donations that involve improving the health of a certain community might benefit its general well being. Consequently, better living conditions might benefit productivity and businesses and gradually eradicate underdevelopment.
One-for-one donations can be very effective to eradicate societal issues only when meeting the primary needs preventing the development of a community. On this perspective, instead of gifting items such as shoes, Toms must rather focus its charitable donations on resources that support a basic but durable development of the needy communities.
Credits
“The One-for-one Business Model: Avoiding Unintended Consequences.” Knowledge Wharton The Oneforone Business Model Avoiding Unintended Consequences Comments. Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, 16 Feb. 2015. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
Davenport, Cheryl. “The Broken “Buy-One, Give-One” Model: 3 Ways To Save Toms Shoes.” Fast Company & Inc © 2015 Mansueto Ventures, LLC, 10 Apr. 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.