Toms and Sole Rebels are two shoe brands that have adopted a social approach for their business model. Toms does this through the one for one business model where they provide a free pair of shoes to unprivileged children for every pair that is bought and Sole Rebels does this by employing local Ethiopan workers and promoting sustainable production by using only recycled and organic materials. In addition, Sole Rebels’ workers are paid 4 times the minimum wage. Although both businesses are trying to tackle the problem of poverty, they differ in one main aspect.
Sole Rebels addresses directly to the causes of poverty. They believe that the lack of jobs contributes to poverty thus they try to diminish this by providing local Ethiopan workers a sustainable job. Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, Sole Rebels’ founder believes in the principle of “trade is better than aid” so she also believes that harnessing skills within a community will decrease the amount of poverty. On the other hand, Toms focuses more on alleviating the effects of poverty. They are not addressing the cause of the whole problem but are just putting a bandage on top of it. This has been criticized because some argue that by donating shoes, local manufacturers are undercut.
Without doubts, I support Sole Rebels because they are addressing the poverty issue from its cause. People are being trained to be productive and this is beneficial for the whole community because skills can be transferred. Regarding Toms even though the company has been criticized for undercutting local producers, I still support them because its founder, Blake Mycoskie has been learning from his experience. Upon receiving this criticism, he has decided to make some changes. Toms is planning to manufacture one third of the shoes they donate in the countries they are donating them to. Doing so will create jobs for the local community. I would still support this company even though this where not to happen because it is better to do something to diminish the effects of poverty rather than do nothing at all.
Reference:
www.shopforchange.tumblr.com/post/70063317324/socially-conscious-shoemakers-toms-solerebels