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It’s A Wrap (Boot) At Toms Shoes

Aug 20, 2008 Author: Jenn Breckenridge | Filed under: Ethical Style Watch, Green Events

For two years, TOMS Shoes has been a shining example of a For Benefit company. Toms has a One For One program; for every pair of their Argentinian-style canvas shoes (known as alpargatas) sold, one pair of TOMS is given to a child in need. Founder Blake Mycoskie and team have travelled to Argentina and South Africa for their soon-to-be-famous “shoe drops,” where they fit the kids personally with the new shoes.

This season, Blake’s come up with a new out-of-the-box design-”The Wrap Boot.” Inspired by his polo playing days in Argentina, Blake modeled The Wrap Boot after the “polo wraps” wound around the bottom of a horse’s cannon bone during a match, which serve as both decoration and tendon support. The Wrap Boot is made with a classic alpargata base and a stretched elastic upper with velcro closures, and comes in five colors. If you’re a TOMS fan, welcome to your new Winter shoe.

With the launch of this new boot, Blake has made it a TOMS Shoes mission to eradicate Podoconiosis, a debilitating condition found primarily in rural districts of Ethiopia which causes swelling and ulcers in the lower legs and feet. The disease is 100% preventable by wearing shoes that are able to keep the soil completely away from the skin, so TOMS has pledged that for every pair of wrap boots purchased, they will give a pair of specially-designed footwear to an Ethiopian in need.

In addition to playing polo, this Renaissance man also has a past with screenwriting and directing, so Blake headed back to Argentina to shoot a short film to promote his new shoe. If you’re in SoCal, there is a screening tonight of No Polo Widow at Huntington Surf and Sport in Huntington Beach starting at 6pm. The Toms team will be there in full swing with music, food, drinks, and of course, shoes. Vicky and Fernando Aguerre (Founder of Reef) will be hosting. The film is a little bit Disney, a touch Almoldovar, and a healthy dose of 80’s style Cinemax after hours. Fyah. If you are one of the billions of people who do not live in Southern California, you can check out the scintillating No Polo Widow right here on In The Loop…

No Polo Widow from TOMS Shoes on Vimeo

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5 Responses for "It’s A Wrap (Boot) At Toms Shoes"

Victoria Everman August 20th, 2008 at 10:45 am 1

Love love love! I’ll definitely be getting a pair
TOMS Wants You To VOTE VOTE VOTE - In The Loop August 27th, 2008 at 6:34 am 2

[...] Shoes has got something for you…the Election Shoe. Launching right on the heels of their new Wrap Boot, TOMS’ comfortable canvas alpargata-style slip-ons are great for traipsing around the [...]
Outfitting Africa: TOMS Sells 37,000 For Ethiopia - In The Loop January 5th, 2009 at 4:04 pm 3

[...] a pair of TOMS Wrap Boots, which will result in a donation of shoes to [...]
Josh January 9th, 2009 at 12:32 pm 4

I want these? When will there be mens sizes!!!???
jennbreck January 10th, 2009 at 9:31 am 5

Hey Josh-

If your feet aren’t too big, you can always order a women’s shoe one and a half sizes smaller. Ex. If you are a Men’s 9, get a Women’s 10 and 1/2.

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