Monday, May 9th, 2011...10:13 am
What will TOMS’ next one-for-one product be? Guess!
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As TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie announced this spring, beginning June 7, TOMS will no longer be a “shoe company,” but a “one-for-one company.” In exactly one month the brand will introduce a new product that will have the same buy one, give one model as the eponymous shoes.
The only question is… what will it be?! Right now even the TOMS staff doesn’t know. So I’m starting a guessing game, right here, and I’ll buy the new product for who ever makes the closest guess!
Leave a comment here with your best speculation — leave as many guesses as you like, any time between now and the announcement. For who ever is right (or most right), I’ll have the newest TOMS product shipped your way.
A few hints…
- The original issue that Blake recognized and aimed to solve was that children without shoes weren’t allowed to go to school. I believe the new product will also be one that serves a specific need and is useful to both the purchaser and the receiver of the donation, just like the shoes are. (I could be wrong about this — but for a product marketed in the U.S., it seems critical.)
- Blake told the LA Times, “I do believe it can be sold in 50 percent of our stores, and that it will open up new doors, and new places. Our first big retail account was actually a furniture store.” He says that retailers have agreed to purchase it sight unseen, but if they don’t think it’s a fit for their store, they can send it back. Interesting that half of existing retailers might not be so keen on it.
- The new products are currently stowed in 7-foot-tall cylinders that Blake has been taking with him around the country as a teaser. So they’re not that huge, or heavy.
Can’t wait to hear what you come up with!
27 Comments
May 9th, 2011 at 10:19 am
It’s clearly a rug. Which of course is the most logical follow-up to shoes in further protecting third-world feet.
May 9th, 2011 at 11:26 am
Bikes. Is that a dumb guess? Hell I don’t know. Bikes. That’s my final answer.
May 9th, 2011 at 11:59 am
tents?
May 9th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
hats! to protect them from the sun. or perhaps t-shirts.
May 9th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Jen, I think Bikes is a great guess actually. I’m going to guess something to do with food, though.
May 9th, 2011 at 5:22 pm
Energy Bars. Thinking food is one of those things we purchase everyday and can make an impact at a global scale.
May 9th, 2011 at 6:48 pm
I guess backpacks..
May 9th, 2011 at 8:09 pm
I wonder if they will pull a warby parker and do glasses. but that would just be straight-up copying…
May 10th, 2011 at 6:22 pm
Water or a Water container.
May 12th, 2011 at 2:25 pm
backpacks or messenger bags!!
May 12th, 2011 at 9:01 pm
These are such awesome guesses, thanks everyone!! Keep them coming!
May 17th, 2011 at 9:44 pm
I think nets! to protect them against malaria and diseases from insects!
love from San Francisco,
Britt+Whit
May 19th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
I was thinking glasses; but I am now wondering if it is something to sleep. Like blankets or hammocks. I think things to sleep like that are in high need in poor countries, and it would also follow the whole comfort thing they have going!
May 20th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
I think the next product might be water bottles with a built-in filters. Access to clean drinking water is a huge problem in developing countries. I really like the idea of nets for protection against malaria, but most people in the U.S. don’t have a need for them so I don’t see that as a potentially high selling item.
May 20th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
As a second guess, maybe their next product is a jacket/coat of some sort.
May 20th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
Or umbrellas!
May 23rd, 2011 at 6:04 pm
Maybe a Swiss army type knife….or a watch
May 25th, 2011 at 5:22 am
Soap? Jars for food/water storage? Or maybe just kitchen supplies like plates and silverware. Knives. Vitamins. Toothbrushes!
May 25th, 2011 at 6:09 pm
Children’s school supplies…
May 28th, 2011 at 6:25 am
backpacks, satchels, napsacks, reusable bags. Or socks, gloves, mittens,
June 1st, 2011 at 1:03 pm
That’s clearly a tube for a three piece suit. There’s even a silhouette of a guy on the outside.
June 2nd, 2011 at 1:26 am
Snuggies
June 4th, 2011 at 2:20 pm
I think they will do t-shirts.
June 6th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
My guesses:
-Some sort of water filter (think Brita) either to use in home or portable.
-Some clothing (jacket maybe? jeans?) that will help prevent mosquito bites to prevent malaria.
-A bed roll that we could take camping and would keep people in third world countries from having to sleep on the floor.
-Backpacks or totes so that kids can carry their books to school more easily.
-A blanket or bedding set.
June 6th, 2011 at 7:43 pm
Solar operated water purification/filtration system which can be converted to a stove for cooking
June 6th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
Socks!!
June 6th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
Hats,bags, or flip flops
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