Corporate Social Responsibility of TOMS Shoes
In this exercise, you will select a company from the list below and research its code of social responsibility (CSR). Locate as much information from that brand that you can, and then evaluate the level to which the company lives up to its stated CSR. Choose one of the following companies:
- TOMS
- Stella McCartney
- Warby Parker
- Subaru.
Be sure to cite all of your researched work using MLA style.
1.After selecting a company, conduct research to identify the company’s code of social responsibility. Then, write a brief 2 page paper in which you do the following:
a. Identify your selected company.
b. Share the company’s stated CSR.
c. Describe how the company aspires to meet its CSR, or what the company is doing to try and align with that code.
d. Evaluate the degree of effectiveness to which the company meets its CSR goals. Is the company doing what it set out to do? How is it implementing its CSR? Can you make any determination as to how important CSRs are for target consumers of this company?
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A CSR Case Review
The company of focus in the present study is TOMS. It is a footwear manufacturing and selling company. Its uniqueness largely depends on its CSR initiatives since it focuses more on positive social changes than profitability. The marketing strategy of TOMS is effective because it invites customers and partners to live purposefully through reduced environmental degradation and counter adverse effects of governance and poverty.
The materials incorporated into the first designed shoes of TOMS, the alpargata model, are recycled polyester, organic cotton, and natural hemp. The boxes in which the shoes are packed are made out of predominantly recycled waste and are printed with soy ink (Brown). Aside from designing a moderately fashionable and affordable product, the company pledged to match every purchased pair of shoes with a new pair for a child in need in more than sixty countries (Holman and Sutherlin). What distinguished TOMS from leading competitors is that it pledged to make a lasting impact from the time of its founding. Black Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS, had the vision to build meaningful relationships with stakeholders of the firm while reducing the company’s impact on ecology (Moxley). Recent studies have proved that stakeholders’ interests are the most influential perspectives to consider (Page and Parnell 247). As such, the company demonstrates that it implements which appeal to customers and other pertinent stakeholders such as employees and partners.
TOMS has made an incredible impact globally through the means of eyesight treatment and increasing access to water among the poor. Five years after its mission to provide shoes to children in developing nations, the organization initiated a project to restore people’s eyesight. As a result, the organization dedicated a substantial portion of its profits to selling sunglasses to the treatment of patients with cataracts and other eye health problems. In addition, the company donated a segment of profits from its coffee business to build wells in places where the resource was inadequate or inaccessible (Fritz). Arguably, TOMS reinvented its social and corporate responsibility considering that the subsequent initiatives were more distinct from those employed during the company’s founding. TOMS displays a novel perspective on business; when a business progresses positively, it should increase its impact on the people by offering long-lasting solutions (Nguyen). Conscious consumers around the globe recognize that shoes from TOMS are not just a fashion statement; they provide clothing to children. Additionally, sunglasses from TOMS are not trending accessories but also a means of providing eye treatment services to those in need.
TOMS exhibits a high level of diligence and reliability to live up to its stated CSR mission. As a result, there is a growing number and diversity of social empowerment initiatives as the company grows and ages (Toms). Notably, the website and social media pages of the company display their numerous corporate social responsibility projects. Like most organizations, TOMS establishes a new CSR program yearly, making them readily available for the members of the public as soon as possible. The company embarks on the d...