How To Give — Give Work, Create Purpose
“The founder of TOMS ‘100% agrees’ with one of the biggest criticisms of his company”
In an interview with Business Insider, Blake Mycoskie took on the criticism that TOMS Shoes disrupts local markets by giving away free shoes in developing parts of the world and he agrees. From the interview Mycoskie remarks that:
“We are incredibly diligent to make sure that our shoes are being given in very, very rural areas where families are having to choose between shoes for the uniform or food on the table, and they’re choosing food on the table. By no means do we ever want to disrupt a local market.”
Mycoskie pointed out that “TOMS itself does not put the shoes on people’s feet.” Instead, they work with charities and nonprofits who are “really focused on improving the quality of life in the people that they serve. So they have the utmost interest in making sure that we’re not disrupting anyone in the market.”
So how does TOMS make sure their giving is actually making a difference rather than creating more problems than it solves. It’s started to move away from One-to-One, the hallmark of its brand. This is an important step for TOMS though because it establishes the notion that One-to-One might be profitable but its not sustainable and after a while, when does giving free things reach a carrying capacity. Think of it this way, after giving away 60 million pair so free shoes, what more of a difference does 70 million make or 80? In the end they’ve served their purpose and now the One-to-One has lost a significant portion of the mission that made it great. This is where giving has evolved. In recent years, TOMS has worked to create jobs in the areas it serves moving 40% of its supply chain to countries including Kenya, India, Ethiopia, and Haiti. This is where real change happens in giving work, in creating purpose and accountability. A job is an integral part to any member of a family, community, and society as it gives a reason to wake up every day, to feel valued and empowered.
Purpose is often glazed over point, lost amongst the chatter about food, shelter, and clothing in the poverty alleviation debate. Work creates purpose, creating and emotional backbone and connection to others in society as well as a connection to one’s self. It becomes virtually impossible to set goals or have aspirations in life without the means to provide for one’s self, let alone a family or community. The sense of self respect and respect from others is craved everyone. And it can’t be achieved by being given free and charitable “stuff.” It is found through fulfilling work.
How do we give work?
The best person to ask is social entrepreneur Leila Janah.
“Leila is the Founder and CEO of Samasource and LXMI, two companies that go beyond charity to #givework to low-income people around the world using cutting-edge social enterprise models in technology and luxury skincare, respectively.”
With LXMI, Janah has promised that for each of our primary ingredient harvests, our producers earn at least 3x the local average wage. These living wages help chip away at some of the world’s most serious problems, from childhood malnutrition to human trafficking.
Leila has been a source of inspiration for and my book with valuable insights into how to truly use business as a means of social change. From Leila’s perspective the way to give sustainably and meaningfully is not to give the poor the things and “stuff” they but to give them the the means to buy what they need themselves. Yes, the poor need money and the best way to create a sustainable system around that is simply to employ them.
Here is where the benefits begin to build. It’s not about just lifting one person, or one family out of poverty, but about creating a sustainable system amongst various actors including the government. It’s about scaling the effect of one person being able to pay for the services they need. When more and more people in poverty gain access to a steady stream of income, they now have the ability to pay for education, for better access to clean water, to pay for shoes. Most importantly, they can start paying taxes. Janah emphasizes taxes a lot, and with good reason. In her own Medium post she lays out the relationship that taxes create between a government and its people:
“Jobs → Taxes → Expectations About How Taxes Should Be Spent → Accountability to the People”
Accountability builds a purposeful and driven community, which is able to advance and help other communities, eventually lifting populations out of poverty. We need to rethink the way we give with an emphasis on creating scalable change.
Hear (a lot) more from Leila Janah in her Give Work: Building an Equitable Economic Future Through Tech at USI.
