'One Day Without Shoes' Reminds People What It's Like To Wear TOMS Shoes

Story by Greg Bright 

| Published Apr 27, 2010

The annual "One Day Without Shoes" event has come and gone and once again it has shown several thousand people what it is like to wear TOMS Shoes. The event, which asks people to go an entire day without wearing any footwear, is hosted by TOMS shoes, an American footwear company that makes alpargata-style shoes that were supposedly popular in Argentina in the late 1800s. According to the TOMS website, the event also seeks to increase awareness of children who are unable to afford shoes and are forced to walk around barefoot.

"We came up with the event to show people that walking around barefoot isn't that bad, so they should just spend $45 to wear our shoes," said TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie. "Also with that $45 you get to save another child from going barefoot, with our one-for-one program. For every worthless shoe you buy from us, we give a shoeless child a real pair of shoes from Adidas, Nike or some other company that makes actual shoes."

The event has grown exponentially in the past couple of years which has helped the company to expand. "People just love the idea of being able to walk around barefoot but still be able to get around the 'no shoes' policy that most businesses have. TOMS shoes is the reason people are able to do that," added Mycoskie.