TOMS - Shoes for a better TOMorrow

While traveling in Argentina in 2006, Blake Mycoskie noticed many children living without shoes to protect their feet. He came up with a plan to help these kids have a better way of life. “What if I start a shoe company, and every time I sold a pair of shoes I gave a pair away? That way, as long as I continue to keep selling shoes, these kids will have shoes for the rest of their life.”

And so TOMS was born. It’s called the One for One Movement: you buy one pair of shoes, TOMS donates one pair of shoes to a child in need. With customer support and the help of Giving Partners, children in several countries around the world are now protected from soil-transmitted diseases and infection from cuts or sores. As of September 2010, TOMS has given away 1,000,000 pairs of shoes! And the giving keeps growing with each purchase. It is Mycoskie’s goal to give repeatedly as the children grow, so they never go without shoes again.

In June, TOMS will expand its next chapter of the One for One Movement by asking you, “What’s your next chapter? What’s your One to One?” Whether its music, art, food, or a place to live, you will be able to help TOMS build a better tomorrow. Find out more on the vimeo channel.

Changing the World - From San Francisco to TIMBUK2

Timbuk2 was born in the garage of a bike messenger who wanted to give fellow couriers the option for a better bag. Throughout the years, Timbuk2 has become a leading manufacturer of cool and colorful messenger bags and accessories for bicyclists and urbanites alike. The San Francisco-based business also does its part to help the earth and the people who inhabit it. Not only does Timbuk2 sponsor “Bike to Work Days” and raise awareness on commuting safety for both bicyclists and drivers, Timbuk2 is a force for change in their hometown of San Francisco and around the world.

In 2009, Timbuk2 began a bag recycling program with At the Crossroads, a non-profit organization that focuses their efforts on improving the lives of San Francisco’s homeless youth and young adults. If you would like a new bag but don’t know what to do with your old-but-in-good-condition Timbuk2 bag, send it back. Timbuk2 will donate all recycled bags to At the Crossroads, and your well-loved bag will go to someone in need. And if the satisfaction of giving isn’t enough, Timbuk2 will also give you 20% off your new bag!

Occasionally, Timbuk2 will donate recycled bags to other great organizations. More than 100 bags were donated to (RED) and were given to community health workers in Zambia to carry medical supplies to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Bags were also donated to Support for International Change (SIC) to help its volunteers administer HIV tests and provide HIV/AIDS education in Tanzania.

Timbuk2 doesn’t just provide you the opportunity to give, they do plenty of giving themselves. When you purchase a Special Edition (TIMBUK2)RED messenger bag, Timbuk2 will contribute 5% of the proceeds to The Global Fund, yet another organization combating AIDS in Africa by funding programs that eliminate the transmission of HIV from mother to child.

Timbuk2 combined with Pop!Tech and The Portable Light Project to create a solar powered LED light and USB charger within their messenger bags. The FLAP (Flexible Light and Power) Project uses spare solar panels and fabric to build bags that provide portable light and electricity in communities where these resources can be scarce. FLAP bags have been sent around the world. In Kenya, students at the Daraja Academy use the solar-powered LED lights to study at night. After the earthquake in Haiti, the bags were useful in off-the-grid medical stations.

Support Timbuk2 and stay updated on their efforts to change the world by visiting their blog. To learn more about Timbuk2’s bag recycling program and how you can recycle your bag, click here.