TOMS was in the process of setting up a partnership with Focus on the Family as an international distributor. This is an organization known for its anti-gay rhetoric/actions, etc. While there was some debate regarding whether this is a problem - i.e. some argue that donating shoes shouldn’t have anything to do with a “political” agenda and so there’s really no problem - I find that working with an organization - regardless of the number of lives it claims to save in the developing world - with a fundamentally flawed approach to human rights to be incredibly problematic. Quiet partnerships such as these not only legitimate anti-gay attitudes (which, for the record, is a human rights issue, not a political one), but also foist those views, by association and networks, on the people of the developing world. It’s still a noblesse-oblige-y-type of imperialism, however you slice it.
Anyways, TOMs issued an apology/retraction today, saying that there was and would be no partnership, but I found this quote on Jezebel to be particularly telling:
Perhaps another explanation is simpler: Mycoskie and TOMS knew what they were getting on board with, but didn’t think anyone would notice or care. Now they know.
(Source: jezebel.com)
