TOMS was born of a belief in a better tomorrow. Their story began in 2006 as the original One for One® company, giving a pair of shoes for every pair purchased. Since then TOMS has given over 86 million shoes, 600,000 sight restorations and provided 600,000 weeks of safe water to communities in need around the world, through their One for One model, where with every product purchased, TOMS will help a person in need.

Now, in addition to the One for One giving programs, TOMS are partnering with changemakers and local non-profits striving for progress, working together on local projects on a global scale to have positive impact around some of the most important issues of our time.  It’s bigger than shoes. It’s what we do in them. With every TOMS purchase, buyer and brand stand together on issues that matter.
 
The TOMS story began with one recognizable canvas shoe – the Alpargata. Over the years their collections have expanded to include a wide range of footwear for all seasons, including waterproof boots, sneakers, sandals, heels, and more.  Since then, they have also expanded to eyewear and coffee. Each product is a badge of something bigger – a badge for change and progress.
 
Lisa Hogg joined the TOMS family in 2016, and is now the Sr. Director of Marketing & Giving for the EMEA region. Lisa is a South African born and raised, Amsterdam resident and Dutch National. Foremost, she’s a mom of two, followed by being a passionate, motivated and ambitious senior executive with a proven track record spanning all areas of marketing and brand communications. She has experience on both the agency and client side environments, proving herself as a natural innovator, skilled and experienced in the implementation of effective management strategies. It’s this vast experience she’s using to drive the social entrepreneurial efforts and mission to improve lives further in EMEA. We sat down with Lisa to get the inside scoop on TOMS ahead of Jacket Required SS20. 

 

Since the beginning, TOMS’ mission is to improve lives, but it all started with a need. While visiting Argentina in 2006, TOMS founder, Blake Mycoskie, was confronted with childrens’ need of shoes in rural villages, and the hardships and complex issues surrounding that need. Inspired to find a solution, he created TOMS (short for Tomorrow Shoes), a for-profit business that would give a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased. One for One.® This idea of empowering customers through an every day purchase grew into a bigger movement. Seeing the impact this new model could make, we launched TOMS Eyewear and TOMS Roasting Co., giving sight and safe water to people in need.
 
Now, 13 years after the beginning of TOMS, we want to continue having an even greater impact. Our mission to improve lives hasn’t changed, but the world around us – and the issue we face - has. We have evolved our giving model to address some of the biggest issues of our time in our local communities. Now, in addition to our One for One programs, we are partnering with changemakers and local non-profits to work on local projects on a global scale.

 

At the core of the TOMS movement is community, and the idea that everyone can make a positive impact, no matter how small the action. Every contribution is important to collective progress and change, whether that’s giving someone a hand, purchasing a pair a pair of shoes that gives back, or starting your own social entrepreneurship. 
 
This Spring we launched our first three European projects, addressing issue areas including homelessness and women’s empowerment, and working alongside changemakers and local NGO’s striving for progress. Along with the projects, we are not only making an investment in the non-profits’ organizations, but also bringing to life activations for the community to get involved.
 
For our first European project we partnered with UK hairdresser and founder of #DoSomethingForNothing, Joshua Coombes, as well as NGOs including UK’s Centrepoint to address the issue of homelessness and isolation of people living on the streets. As part of the project we worked with Joshua and local arts programs for isolated people to bring to life a multi-city art show.  This year we also worked on a project with UK community leader and musician Ella Grace Denton and UK non-profit Helen Bamber Foundation addressing female empowerment. Most recently we launched a project with German social entrepreneur Sara Nuru and non-profit Ashoka, to support the next generation of social entrepreneurs with a ChangemakerXchange summit.
 
This is only the beginning of many more projects to come across Europe and the globe. In the UK we will be launching another exciting project this fall. Stay tuned.

 

TOMS is made up of a diverse community of artists, activists, travellers, makers, and doers. It’s our community that inspires the work we do and we aim to put those voices at the centre of our aesthetic. This comes to life across our creative as well as our collections – which are both wearable and functional, but have unique, thoughtful details that make the product distinctly TOMS. 

 

Just as we are innovating our giving, our SS20 collection is about innovative solutions, thoughtful design and dynamic quality-enhancing components – from water-resistant knits to handcrafted details.
 
Throughout our collections we will celebrates our roots while paving the way for a more sustainable future. Newly incorporated earth-friendly features include flexible foam made from algae biomass, recycled high-performance fibers and plant-dyed canvas.
  
This season we are incorporating soft subdued colours and patterns informed by Japanese design to lush prints, bold colour palettes and retro-inspired elements.

 

We feel a real synergy with what Jacket Required is doing. TOMS is a casual footwear brand with roots in Venice, California and a really innovative story to tell, grounded in giving back. Jacket Required has the perfect combination of a laid-back, yet on-the-pulse vibe for a brand like TOMS to tell that story in, especially as we look ahead to our strongest season of product yet and the exciting next chapter of the brand.

 

As a brand we are in a state of evolution, both concerning our product assortment but also in the way in which we now give. Using Jacket Required as a springboard for the SS20 season, we will be featuring some innovative activations, like augmented reality and some well-known classics, like our TOMS coffee bar for guests to better experience both.


Showcase next to TOMS and discover more exciting emerging and established brands. Join us at Jacket Required SS20 on 24th & 25th July 2019.
 

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