MANILA, Philippines - If anything embodies the spirit of giving, it’s Toms, the preppy espadrille label famous for its “one for one” policy. For every pair you purchase, one pair goes to a child in need. In 2006, founder Blake Mycoskie traveled to a village in Argentina and discovered children with no shoes to protect their feet. He created Toms, a label devoted to children in need. To date, they have given over a million pairs of shoes through NGO partners throughout the world. Last September, 16 locales in the Philippines, including Manila, Baguio, Bacolod and Isabela, became beneficiaries of the Toms program, with teams from the label’s headquarters flying in to personally fit the shoes on kids. There are videos on the Toms Philippines channel on YouTube, totally worth the click, which inspire everyone who views it to better the world — either by buying shoes or spreading the principle of giving.
For the holidays, its collection of peppy colors in winterized hues come in plaid, wool and suede materials, bold colors and prints like teal and black Aztec canvas as well as fleece-lined styles. For women, sparkly styles like sequins Cordones round out the holidays.
Toms is available at Nothing But H20 at Glorietta, Alabang Town Center, Adora, Greenbelt 5, and Rustan’s Makati. Visit facebook.com/TOMSphilippines for more info on how to get involved.