Globalization is the international influence. alteration. and interaction within or between states and or states. This creates an thought of connection between the easing state and the state being influenced. Within this interaction and influence on another state at that place becomes this desire to go a “trendsetter” through the usage of merchandises and other assorted trade goods throughout the universe. One such illustration can be seen through the United States which is associated with so many different types of trade names such as Coca-Cola or Nike. These influences and tendencies though can non be merely placed anyplace. instead they are developed and strategically thought of where they would be best placed and every bit good alternated to suit within a new environment for optimal ingestion. These alterations can either impede a merchandise or can assist it through the manner in which it is advertised and accepted into the local market.
Such an illustration can be seen through TOMS shoe company where their end is “to show how together. we can make a better tomorrow by taking compassionate action today” ( Toms. com ) . TOMS’ concern theoretical account of bargain a brace give a brace is marketed to the U. S. in a manner that plays with people’s emotions so that their merchandise becomes a fetish through the thought that one time a brace of places is bought people are making good for another individual ; in peculiar kids in other states without places. This correlates with both Marx’s trade good fetish theory. the cultural imperialism theory and Mazzarella’s thought of the impact of imagination through the direct manner TOMS is directed to the consumer and every bit good how there is an indirect influence from the TOMS shoe company onto the other assorted states that they take their places to through the positive imagination that is created through the planetary impact that the company is seeking to do.
TOMS was started by laminitis Blake Mycoskie in 2006 after he had gone to Argentina in 2002 and saw the utmost poorness and wellness conditions and in peculiar kids without places ( Toms. com ) . The original merchandise came from an Argentine shoe called an alpargata which was worn by the local husbandmans in the part ; it’s a canvas or fabric stuff with gum elastic colloidal suspensions. Mycoskie took the alpargata to the U. S. but changed and reinvented it for the American market so that there could be a merchandise that made a positive impact. which finally translates to the “One for One” run. where with every one brace of places bought another brace would be given to a kid in demand ( Toms. com ) . The ground for the production and concern of places is due to two grounds foremost many kids in destitute topographic points live in countries that have insecure terrains. such as a deficiency of unpaved roads. Second. there are besides wellness concerns that are transmitted from the dirt which is caused by non have oning places.
Last TOMS did some research and found that many schools require kids to have on places to the schoolroom and without places or even the right colour of places that child would non be able to travel into the schoolroom ( Daniel:2011:2 ) . With this Mycoskie was able to get down a concern that now has fabrication sites in China. Argentina. and Ethiopia ( Daniel:2011:4 ) . These production mills are divided up into two “departments” where the Argentinean and Ethiopian mills are where the donated places are produced merely and the China mill is where the places that go to the United States are produced ( Toms. com ) .
Because TOMS is a private company intending that they are “a concern company owned either by non-governmental organisations or by a comparatively little figure of stockholders or company members which does non offer or merchandise its company portions to the general populace on the stock market exchanges. but instead the company’s stock is offered. owned and traded or exchanged privately” ( businessnow. com ) . This so allows TOMS to be more private and less in the unfastened about what is traveling on in their mills and other assorted production phases.
However. TOMS is unfastened about their fabrication patterns and harmonizing to the TOMS web site they guarantee that no kids are working in the fabrication procedure of their places. As good they want to assist their supply employees through developing them and educating them in the cognition of what human trafficking is and every bit good slavery bar. They “follow local labour standards” ; which fluctuate from topographic point to topographic point which gives a really obscure world of what their “real” criterions are. TOMS’ web site does state that all mills are audited by 3rd parties. each employer marks a codification of behavior in which they are holding to follow the judicial admissions to TOMS company. there are regular visits made by TOMS production staff to do certain they are working and adhering to the codification of behavior and other assorted working criterions. and that all their criterions are based off of the International Labor Organization Compliance Standards ( Toms. com ) .
The purpose of such criterions. so. is to set up a world-wide minimal degree of protection from inhumane labour patterns through the acceptance and execution of said steps. “It is the purpose of international labour criterions to guarantee the proviso of such rights in the workplace. such as against workplace aggression. intimidation. favoritism and gender inequality on the other custodies for working diverseness. workplace democracy and empowerment” ( ilo. org ) . The basic phases of the production of the places goes from a squad that draws up the thoughts of the places. to a mock makeup of the shoe. so the design goes to the mills where they are made and so shipped to the U. S. where they are distributed to the assorted relaters and non-profit organisations that they spouse with for “shoe beads. ” Overall though. there is small information of the production phases and how the production installations are like ; which causes concern seeing as how they have built their image on making good for others and want to hold a positive impact on the local economic systems.
It becomes of import to admit that TOMS is a “for-profit company with giving at its core” ( Toms. com ) . TOMS spouses up with other assorted non-profit organisations that run parallel ends and criterions as TOMS does. This so means that each non-profit organisation that TOMS spouses with demands to run into certain standards. There are six demands that the organisations need to carry through to be able to spouse up with TOMS. First they need to hold repeated giving which is where the possible organisation must hold the capableness to be active within the same communities on a regular footing throughout the old ages. Second they need to hold high impact which means that the organization’s mission and ends need to back up wellness and instruction in a manner that underlies the rule of giving a kid an chance they usually would non hold.
Third heightening impact through partnership. TOMS strives to do an influential impact in communities where they donate and the partnering organisation demands to hold their mission and ends coincide with TOMS’ . Fourth. they need to be considerate of the local economic system so that there is non a negative impact on the economic system merely a positive 1. Fifth they need to be able to have big cargos of TOMS’ places so that they may administer the places to the topographic points they focus on. Last. the possible partnering constitution needs to be comprehensively founded on wellness and instruction. so that the distribution of the new places non merely supports TOMS’ mission but runs parallel with the establishments’ ends ( Toms. com ) . These non-profit organisations are non merely an of import facet to the overall concern of TOMS through the ability to give out the donated places but every bit good to distribute the word about TOMS to the assorted communities that they reach.
Non-profit organisations play a cardinal function throughout the TOMS company procedure. Without these partnering organisations at that place would non be as frequent “shoe beads. ” These “shoe drops” are where the donated places are given to the kids in the targeted country. Each organisation plays a cardinal function through traveling to different topographic points that they see fit and in demand of places. Even after the places have been delivered. TOMS continues to keep relationships with its giving spouses and the communities ( Toms. com ) . TOMS invariably monitors its spouses for answerability. Additionally the organisation recognizes that one brace of places is non traveling to last for the child’s full life-time.
“Therefore. as the kids grow out of their shoes—approximately every six months—TOMS provides replacing places to these same kids on a regular basis” ( Daniel:2011:5 ) . A agenda is set up with the identified community and local giving spouse to keep a regular Shoe Drop for the kids. TOMS’ believes that repetition giving allows it to understand the local’s needs more exhaustively. TOMS besides works to accommodate its merchandises to account for the region’s terrain. conditions. and instruction demands ( Toms. com ) . However. despite the usage of these non-profit organisation partnerships there is still a demand to distribute the word about what the TOMS company is all about and what they are seeking to make.
The TOMS company does non utilize conventional advertisement in the sense that they use telecasting or newspaper ads instead they use societal media to distribute what they are making through the assorted mercantile establishments such as viral pictures. web logs. Twitter. Facebook. Tumbler. and Youtube. Its attack has allowed TOMS to make a huge audience worldwide. TOMS maintains its ain web log to educate the populace about current events in the company. Additionally. many consumers create their ain digital content sing their experiences with TOMS Shoes. By promoting events and viva-voce communicating. TOMS is leting consumers to make much of the selling for the company. There is a really strong demand for engagement from the consumers to distribute the word and the thought behind TOMS ; so much so that they invite the consumer to be portion of the “movement” ( Toms. com ) . The motion for TOMS is a broad scope of assorted activities that the consumers can take part in ; from on campus plans. one twenty-four hours without places. and most significantly purchasing their places so that another brace can travel to a kid in demand. in other words “One for One. ”
The images that are presented in these images and information picture at that place becomes a really powerful image behind them. This coincides with Mazzarella’s statement that the image is a powerful image and how that powerful image so is a created for a local individuality on a peculiar merchandise for each specific topographic point. With TOMS there is a sense of making a local individuality through who the audience is but there is more of an thought that anyone can fall in in what they are about and making no affair the age or phase of unrecorded one is in. Because. the TOMS Company is inquiring engagement from the consumer they in kernel are besides inquiring them to make a significance behind their purchase and ingestion of their shoe merchandise ; this in bend causes the places to go fetishized. The places take on a new significance for the consumer other than merely another brace of places. They become a symbol of hope. a opportunity for a kid. a generous gift. and an chance for alteration for the consumer ( citation ) .
Harmonizing to Marx’s theory of the trade good fetish when an object is treated as alive it becomes a fetish. As good Marx argues that capitalist economy produces its ain fetishes through turning basic human demands such as nutrient. heat. shelter. and shoes into wants ; they try to score the consumer. The consumer does non believe so of the usage value the merchandise merely becomes something that they want and more frequently than non the wants are really shallow ( Marx ) . However. TOMS tries to set an anti-shallow privation on their places through the usage of playing with the consumers emotions. TOMS plays at the heart-strings of the consumer so that there becomes an emotional nexus between the consumer and the merchandise ; if the places are bought so a kid is acquiring helped. As Marx points out there is an emotional quality in the merchandise and this is frequently heightened through the manner in which it is advertised. Even though TOMS does non utilize the conventional ways of advertisement they do nevertheless. set a positive feeling into their information videos that attention deficit disorder and rise this emotional affect.
TOMS shoe company falls into this thought of a trade good fetish because TOMS is inquiring the consumer to make full in the infinite between the merchandise and the agencies of it ; to make full in the spread harmonizing to Marx. TOMS makes its merchandise seem so luring for the consumer to make good that frequently times it is forgotten that the company is a for-profit company and it about gets seen as a non-profit company because of the manner in which the company brings forth what it is seeking to make. This in bend alterations the significance of the shoe from merely a shoe into what the consumers want it to intend.
The significance of the merchandise is non merely separately made but socially created and working but the usage value remains the same ; the significance of the trade good is ne’er locked down instead it is ever alteration and fluxing with the societal facet and acquire filled with personal lives and non merely the companies intending ( Marx ) . However. even though there is a positive spin on devouring TOMS places it’s of import to look at how TOMS merely releases certain information on what they are making and their merchandise ; they present everything that they do in a manner that they are ever making good and nil bad. This in bend ties in with Cultural Imperialism.
Cultural Imperialism is the indirect influence of one civilization onto another. It can be argued that while TOMS is holding an impact and hence influence on the civilizations that they donate the places and have mills in they are in kernel holding a more influence on the American economic civilization through the manner in which they have “revolutionized” the manner in which to construct a concern theoretical account ( Mendez:2011:7 ) . They did this through the manner in which the company was created under the premiss that gross revenues equal the good done. Mycoskie said. “…we know every twenty-four hours that we’re traveling to give away one brace of places for every one we sell. and that’s that. If we can’t do the concern work that manner. so the concern merely doesn’t work. ” Many little concerns have now started to pattern their patterns after this one-for-one theoretical account nevertheless they have non been every bit successful as TOMS particularly if these companies are genuinely non-profit organisations ( theworld. com ) . Harmonizing to a Wall Street Journal “Toms is traveling a measure farther than most in film overing the difference between trade name and charity ; the trade name doesn’t be outside the charitable work. ”
Which helps explains why they have been so successful in selling their merchandise because they are film overing those lines between the merchandise trade name and the charity facet which frequently times is non the instance when a major company wants to make charity work. Because of this blurring of the lines between corporate and charity this causes an influence in the United States corporate civilization. Even though it may non be planetary in the sense that it’s an American company act uponing the American corporation universe it still is a type of cultural imperialism. However harmonizing to Mazzarella cultural imperialism is the tool that is used to make pandemonium in which merely the ad companies merely have the solution to. Again with the manner in which TOMS places their imagination through societal media beginnings at that place about becomes an indirect manner that they are seeking to portray the good they are making in the head while whatever other impacts they may be happening to the roadside so that it appears there is no influence created by TOMS and its industry both throughout the universe and the United States local economic system.
Overall. TOMS shoe company is one that wants to convey good to those in demand. However. there are several inquiries that arise such as if they are making what they say they are why are their production installations and patterns so concealed? Or why don’t they allow people to see merely how much the difference in installations in the United States and their mills in Argentina. Ethiopia and China? Last are they genuinely merely holding positive impacts to the local economic systems in which they donate their places or are they besides holding a negative 1 every bit good? The company is really unfastened on the good they are making and make a really powerful image that straight relates to the fetichism of their places with the consumer and their desire themselves to hold a positive impact through their ingestion of a merchandise instead than guilt. As Mazzarella states the “global is constructed locally merely every bit much as the local is constructed globally” ( 2003:17 ) .
This can be seen through how with the local imagination that is created in the United States that is seen as a positive image of TOMS is directed to the remainder of the universe even though while it may look really true there are still many things about the overall corporation the TOMS company keeps hidden from the consumers eyes. This so is besides how their cultural imperialistic impact is played through how the positive image is translated from the local to the planetary. Overall. Tom offers a solution to short-run symptoms of poorness but does non turn to the root cause of poorness ( Costello:2012:12 ) . In decision it might be better to purchase a brace of places for half the monetary value and so compose a cheque for a foundation that support the local economic systems infrastructure that TOMS is impacting so there can be more of a long-run impact instead than a short-run. However. there is a desire to make a positive impact and while there can ne’er be a perfect theoretical account to make a concern that is ever making a positive impact the TOMS company merely might be on to something.
Plants CitedBartter. Jacqueline. “A New Model of Corporate Social Responsibility. ” Iprs. uscs. edu. University of California. San Diego. 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. hypertext transfer protocol: //irps. ucsd. edu/assets/001/503681. pdf Costello. Amy. “Buy One and Give One. Inside TOMS Shoes” . Tiny Spark. Chronicle of Philanthropy. March. 15. 2012.
F. . Daniel. “Toms: One For the Movement. ” University of New Mexico. 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. hypertext transfer protocol: //danielsethics. mgt. unm. edu/pdf/TOMS % 20Case. pdf Marx. Karl. and David McLellan. Selected Writings. Oxford [ Eng. : Oxford UP. 1977. Print. Mazzarella. William. Shoveling Smoke: Ad and Globalization in Contemporary India. Durham: Duke UP. 2003. Print. “TOMS SHOES LOGO. ” TOMS Shoes & A ; Eyewear Official Store. N. p. . n. d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. “International Labour Organization. ” International Labour Organization. N. p. . n. d. Web. 14 Dec. 2012. “TOMS Places: Does Buy-One-Give-One Work? | PRI’s The World. ” PRIs The World RSS. N. p. . n. d. Web. 14 Dec. 2012. “Www. TheWorld. com: The World’s Home Page. ” Www. TheWorld. com: The World’s Home Page. N. p. . n. d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.
