Category: CSR

re: manufacturing TOMS

~ Knowledge Stitch ~ Leave a comment

 

Unsatisfied with the available information on manufacturing on TOMS site, I send the company some questions via email on Dec. 4th. Sean Scott, Chief Shoe Maker, responded today with some answers. Attached to the email was the company’s Code of Conduct. This information is not available online. If you are interested in reading the Code of Conduct, I suggest you send a request to sean@TOMSshoes.com, or send me a message and I will forward it over to you.

 

MH: How does TOMS define fair labor standards?

 

SS: Fair labor standards are defined largely by the local government but mostly by TOMS collective conscience.  We easily exceed worldwide legal standards.  “Fair labor standards” covers a broad spectrum of issues.  Please refer to attached TOMS Code of Conduct required of all our manufacturers.

 

MH: How does TOMS define fair labor wages? 

 

SS:  Please refer to attached TOMS Code of Conduct required of all our manufacturers.

 
MH: How often are your factories monitored? Your site simply states ‘routinely.’

 

SS:  TOMS employees are in our China and Argentina factories virtually every day.  So we can be sure there are no egregious human, social, safety, or environmental violations.  That said, we are not experts in these fields.  Therefore we contract factory audits by well-established, independent firms 1 or 2 times per year to enlighten us of any important issues.  

 
MH: What are “TOMS strict standards”?

 

SS:  Again, Please refer to attached TOMS Code of Conduct required of all our manufacturers.

 

MH: Who is the third party monitor used by TOMS responsible for factory audits?

 

SS:  Intertek (ITS)   http://www.intertek-labtest.com

 

MH: Congratulations on the success your company has had with your “one for one” campaign. My concern here is with transparency with respect to manufacturing.

 

SS:  Good questions all.  The above and attached info is available to anyone: Grad student, street musician, competitor, whomever…

Take care,

Sean

 

 

The obvious question now is why this information is not available on the company site?

goodprint vs. badprint

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I had recently done a post on ebay and World of Good, Inc. After taking a closer look, I was surprised to find TOMS shoes categorized under “Economic Empowerment,” for shoppers interested in supporting “People Positive” consumption practices. For those of you who haven’t heard of TOMS, they are a California based shoe company that has received lots of buzz over their “one for one” campaign. According to company policy, for every shoe sold, one will be donated to a child in need. The shoe drop-offs are well documented through photos and video, available on the site. Unfortunately, the company has not been as transparent with respect to how their shoes are manufactured. Listed under FAQ’s you will find some information, however this information has in no way separated TOMS shoes from any other shoe company, and is hardly enough to qualify the shoes as sustainable/ethical. Despite this fact, World of Good and ebay have categorized TOMS shoes as an option for shoppers to promote economic value and empowerment.  

ebay offers a world of good?

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A friend wrote to me yesterday sharing a link to ebay’s social conscious.

In September of this year, World of Good, Inc. launched WorldofGood.com in partnership with ebay. Customers can shop by category, or by what the site calls “Goodprint” (people possitive, eco possitive, animal friendly, supports a cause).

In his book Just Another Emperor? The Myths and Realities of Philanthrocapitalism, Michael Edwards warns that “Philanthrocapitalism has seized on an important part of the puzzle of how to square democracy with the market, but is in danger of passing itself off as the whole solution, downgrading the costs and trade-offs of extending business and market principles into social transformation.” (Edwards, 8 ) Edwards quotes Jeff Skoll, ebay co-founder, to highlight business attitudes toward the opportunities created by philanthtocapitalism: “‘The most pressing environmental issues of our time will be…solved when desperate governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) finally surrender their ideologies and tap the private sector for help” ‘ (13).

I wonder if the people at World of Good, Inc. believe that by partnering with ebay they have serendered their ideologies?

Edwards, Michael.  Just Another Emperor? The Myths and Realities of Philanthrocapitalism. USA: Dēmos: A Network for Ideas & Action and The Youth Foundation, 2008.