Selling Their Soles (To Save Their Souls)
Nick Haramis
April 30, 2008
Blake Mycoskie is standing outside of a movie theater on the corner of East 19th and Broadway in Manhattan. He looks scruffy in a manicured way, and he's wearing a pair of Toms shoes inspired by traditional Argentinian footwear—a combination of Tod's and tatami slippers. He's here at the Tribeca Film Festival promoting For Tomorrow: The First Step of the Revolution, the new short film he produced about his entrepeneurial upstart. It's part of the preciously titled "All Truisms" collection of films centered on world travel and benevolence. For Tomorrow, directed by Ken Kokin, chronicles Mycoskie's experience with Toms, and his first major "drop" in Argentina. You see, for every pair of shoes he sells at places like Nordstrom, Toms gives away a pair of shoes to a child in need.
Surprisingly, and pleasantly, it’s an altruistic business model that seems to work. The film, at once anthropological and confessional, follows Mycoskie and his crew as they give shoes away en masse. For their first drop—despite little sleep, sudden downpours, and little experience—they were able to hand out 10,000 pairs of shoes. On his next excursion to Africa, he intends to part with 40,000 pairs. Mycoskie’s is a genuine desire to help people (without the sexploitation of Dov Charney and company).
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