TOMS

For some reason, I have been uncomfortable with the idea of TOMS' shoes Buy One, Give One business model for quite a while now but never been able to quite put my finger on it. Something about the company and everyone's seemingly blind obsession with it has made me uneasy for a couple of years, and even though I like the look of the shoes, I've never bought a pair. I am ALL FOR helping people in need, but I don't think that giving a poor child a pair of shoes is going to help them out of the long-term cycle of poverty. If anything, it could even be putting local shoemakers out of business and destroying their livelihoods.
Today I read this article, and my suspicions are a little more founded! Take it for what it's worth.