In case you didn’t see the comments in the last post, TOMS responds! And then I respond to TOMS and make a super-special offer.
(I out Taylor as a TOM employee in my response. I got his last name from his email address. Here’s the proof.)
April 7th, 2011 | 11:50 am Taylor said:
If you would look at the actual facts of what happens when they are made, not just where, you would see the truth. TOMS uses multiple countries to make their shoes. The fact is, TOMS has factories in the same countries they give their shoes. Like Ethiopa. Here’s a thought, even the same factory with the same workers paid the same amount as SoleRebels. The reasoning for this is so they CAN provide jobs in the…
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2013 Update: TOMS has taken many of the questions I and others have posed very seriously and are rethinking their model. They are opening a “responsible and sustainable” shoe factory in Haiti to provide opportunities/job to Haitians. They also plan on manufacturing their “giving shoes” in the countries where they are given.
These are very positive moves in the right direction. Kudos to TOMS. And kudos to all of the brave souls willing to speak out about how the TOMS brand could be used to make a real and lasting impact on our world.
More information here: http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-10-08/toms-shoes-rethinks-its-buy-one-give-one-model-helping-needy
READ MY 2012 UPDATE: 3 Things Criticizing TOMS Shoes Taught Me
“Can anyone think of a brand that…
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Either I have super hearing or one can hear a baby’s heartbeat by placing your ear on a pregnant woman’s belly. To be clear, that someone was my wife.
Thump-Thump-Thump
I listened intently to my little boy’s heart. My ear to Annie’s belly like a cowboy with his ear to the ground listening for coming troubles. Then he kicked me in the ear.
We could have our hands full with this one….
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One of the reasons I try to avoid writing about religion is because it can often be divisive: If you don’t believe what I do, well then, you are wrong. So at first I was hesitant to agree to an interview at the spiritual book club, but then I read what they were about:
www.spiritualbookclub.com is an on-line global community of kindred spirits who explore spirituality through books, music, discussion, and ways to get involved in doing good things globally…Often in talking about religions, there can be disagreement about this philosophy or that. Spirituality covers a broader turf. Those who attempt to lead spiritual lives get a sense that it’s about trying to be faithful, trying to understand,…
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My doctor’s politics, a tough pill to swallow
A display at our dermatologist’s office in Muncie.
I bet the doctor doesn’t have a $6,000 deductible. Whether you are for against the message of the sign, I think we all can agree that we’d rather not have our doctor’s hit us with their political beliefs. Might as well have Rush Limbaugh playing in the waiting room.
The most appropriate store name ever?
By the time you own something from a rent-to-own place, you’ve paid more than three times what you would have paid if you just bought it in the first place. At least this store isn’t trying…
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A hundred years ago today 146 people scrambled toward the exits attempting to flee the inferno that had enveloped the Triangle Shirtwaist factory.
The exits were locked. The women were trapped in the factory and they were trapped in a world that didn’t value them beyond their piece count.
The only way “out” was the windows. Women hand-in-hand jumped to their death.
I’ve read about the tragedy in countless books, but none of them paint the tragedy with more humanity than Robert Pinsky in his poem “Shirt.” I appreciate poetry more when it’s read aloud, so give this a listen. The poem begins at 2:49, but his comments before will be of interest to any engaged consumer.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI8DvfM0VCs[/youtube]
Here’s a short passage to show…
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I’ve been in deep water before.
I’ve filled my lungs to the point of embolism and swam to 100’ feet beneath the ocean’s surface. I grabbed sand to prove I made it to the bottom and swam for the surface. Swimming to 100’ is the easy part. Swimming back is the hard and essential part. My legs grew heavy with lack of oxygen. My hand oozing with sand broke the surface first.
That felt like deep water.
I turned the water on and plugged the drain. I left to get diapers, diaper rash crème, pajamas, and my daughter Harper. By the time I returned the bath was half full. If she rolled over on her…
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A confession: I have a Rod Stewart channel on Pandora. Harper and I listen to it every night when I giver her a bath.
The first song that came on tonight was Rod Stewart’s “Forever Young.”
And when you finally fly away
I’ll be hoping that I served you well
For all the wisdom of a lifetime
No one can ever tell
But whatever road you choose
I’m right behind you, win or lose
Forever Young, Forever Young
I’ve known the song for years, but I really never felt the lyrics until I became a parent.
Another confession: I saw Rod Stewart in concert…with my mom!
So there I sat at the side of the tub staring all sappy-eyed at Harper, and she gave me her cheese smile. A knot grew in my chest as I thought about…
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Once upon a time authors shared their work at independent book stores filled with folks who loved books. The big boxes killed the radio star…I mean the independent book stores. Writers were forced to arrange readings at the big box stores who begrudgingly stuck the writer in the corner and did nothing to promote the event.
Here’s my reenactment of the big box experience vs. a book club visit…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SufkZyIp5Fw&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Today, the big boxes are dying too.
What now?
The writing community needs to pull together to shine the light on local writers. The Midwest Writers (who have a new website, and are accepting registrations for their awesome summer conference) are hosting a new reading series in Muncie: The Message in a Bottle Reading Series.
If you are in…
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(Justin in Kenya with photographer Brian MacDonald)
I get compliments all the time on my blog. I wish they were all on the writing, but more times than not they are on design. This quickly leads to a discussion on how awesome the design firm that worked their magic here is.
If I had an ounce of artistic ability, if I could write instead of scrawl my name, if I could draw anything, I would beg for a job at Rule29. That’s about the highest compliment that I can dish out because, you know, I don’t want a real job. Every chance I’ve had to work with them has been loads…
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