I’ve known about Toms for quite a while. I’m pretty sure it was one of those USA Network “Character of the Month” commercials when I first learned of the company years ago. The companies owner Blake was profiled for his work in developing countries. The premise was simple. You buy a pair of Toms shoes and the company will donate a pair to a child in need. So far they have donated 1 million pairs of shoes.
Just recently I discovered that they are doing something similar with sunglasses. I could just go out and buy some crappy pair of shades that I would inevitably lose or break due to shotty craftsmanship. Or I could actually buy something of quality, take better care of it AND know that I was contributing to a great cause at the same time. Sounds like a win to me! The purchase of my sunglasses will provide a pair of corrective lenses OR eye saving surgery to a person in countries that could normally never afford either. A shocking statistic that I learned was that 2/3 of all people in poor countries who are blind or going blind are women.
Not only are these the best pair of sunglasses that I have ever owned, I am very happy that my little purchase was able to help someone else out in a big way.
What kinds of purchases do you make to help others? I’d love to hear. Post a comment below.