Hilary Carell wrote a blog about TOMS Shoes and the company’s initiative to donate a pair to children in need, for every pair that is sold. She found this initiative very inspiring because it proves that businesses do place a higher importance on sustainability and social responsibility than they do on their company profits.
Corporate Social Responsibility
I agree that large corporations should place corporate social responsibility as a higher priority, like TOMS Shoes, because they have the wealth and power to create a positive difference around the World. However, as discussed in class, many companies use corporate social responsibility for reasons other than to give back. In fact, many businesses view social responsibility as a marketing tactic. For instance, in class we watched Coca-Cola’s Arctic Home Commercial and observed that their initiative to save the polar bears was more of a marketing method used to promote their beverages in white cans during the Christmas season because they only promised to contribute $2 million over 5 years, which is a small amount considering that their company generates billions of dollars each year. Nonetheless, even though some companies are involved with social responsibility for their own selfish intensions, they are still contributing towards a good cause.