After years of proving that combining style and charitable causes can make a successful business plan, TOMS has decided to expand its philanthropic venture and offer a new product: eyewear.
Blake Mycoskie, founder and CEO of TOMS, spoke in front of a crowd at the California Heritage Museum near Santa Monica, Calif. He said that now, four years after the start of his company in his Venice Beach apartment, was the time to finally expand his “One for One” business model beyond shoes.
Mycoskie had been creating buzz for the launch by carrying a large tube-shaped “mystery box” to speaking events, such as his recent appearance at SXSW.
Just before opening it, he told the crowd in Santa Monica, "What's actually inside this box is not near as important as what it represents."
What was in the box was a presentation of his new eyewear line. Made in Italy, the $135 sunglasses come in three basic styles: Classic 101 (similar to Ray-Ban Wayfarers), Classic 201 (large and round), and Classic 301 (similar to aviators).
Each come in a variety of colors, however they all have one signature design detail. The temples of each pair of sunglasses features a hand-painted color and white stripe. He says it signifies the bond between consumer and person being helped, with the white stripe representing TOMS as bridging the two together.
Just as his company's shoe sales directly funded help to people in need, his eyewear will do the same. Partnered with the Seva Foundation, each sale will directly help the visual health of a person in a developing country.
TOMS Eyewear
After years of proving that combining style and charitable causes can make a successful business plan, TOMS has decided to expand its philanthropic venture and offer a new product: eyewear.
Blake Mycoskie, founder and CEO of TOMS, spoke in front of a crowd at the California Heritage Museum near Santa Monica, Calif. He said that now, four years after the start of his company in his Venice Beach apartment, was the time to finally expand his “One for One” business model beyond shoes.
Mycoskie had been creating buzz for the launch by carrying a large tube-shaped “mystery box” to speaking events, such as his recent appearance at SXSW.
Just before opening it, he told the crowd in Santa Monica, "What's actually inside this box is not near as important as what it represents."
What was in the box was a presentation of his new eyewear line. Made in Italy, the $135 sunglasses come in three basic styles: Classic 101 (similar to Ray-Ban Wayfarers), Classic 201 (large and round), and Classic 301 (similar to aviators).
Each come in a variety of colors, however they all have one signature design detail. The temples of each pair of sunglasses features a hand-painted color and white stripe. He says it signifies the bond between consumer and person being helped, with the white stripe representing TOMS as bridging the two together.
Just as his company's shoe sales directly funded help to people in need, his eyewear will do the same. Partnered with the Seva Foundation, each sale will directly help the visual health of a person in a developing country.