Toms invested 2 million dollars in communities in 2021

Footwear brand Toms has unveiled its 2021 impact report, the first since changing its business model away from its ‘One for One’ giving model to a new impact strategy where it invests a third of profits to grassroots organisations.

In 2021, Toms has revealed that it donated more than 2 million dollars in cash grants to community-based organisations, which it adds has positively impacted 427,197 lives.

Toms has focused its investment on building equity in marginalised communities through boosting mental health, increasing access to opportunities and ending gun violence in the US. This has seen donations given to 43 grassroots organisations including Centrepoint and The Advocacy Academy in the UK.

Amy Smith, Tom’s chief strategy and impact officer, said in the report: “Toms is in business to improve lives. This is core to who we are and always has been. In 2021, we officially launched our evolved Giving Model, evolving from One for One donations to investing 1/3 of our profits for grassroots good—pioneering again to maximise our impact.

“Through cash grants and deep partnership with community organisations, we are already seeing incredible results in communities.”

Toms also added that it has been recognised as one of B Corp’s ‘Best for the World’ 2021. Out of 4,000 organisations worldwide, Toms placed in the top 5 percent in the Community category and earned an overall score of 121.5 points, 25 percent higher than its first.

Looking to sustainability, which the footwear brand describes as a “marathon, not a sprint,” Toms stated that it expanded its eco-friendly Earthwise collection from 15 percent of its total footwear line to 20 percent. The brand also expanded its use of sustainable cotton, with currently, 4 percent of its total footwear line using organic cotton, up from 1 percent in 2020.