Actually, TOMS Would Prefer Not to Focus on the Family

On Friday, July 8th, blog Jezebel wondered "Why Is TOMS Partnering With An Anti-Gay, Anti-Choice Group?"

In the piece, Jezebel takes Toms to task for its partnership with the far right social policy group Focus on the Family.

It was a harsh slap to progressive fans of TOMS, the digitally-savvy brand that "changed the game of social activism" with a "one for one" business model, donating a pair of shoes (and now, glasses) for every purchase.

Jezebel wrote, "TOMS is at major risk of alienating a constituency that has enthusiastically adopted their product, including yours truly."

A day later, July 9th, a TOMS spokesperson told Jezebel it regretted the move, pointing to an explanation posted on the brand's Facebook page and blog.

Except, nobody appears to have told Focus on the Family.

The July 9th statement released to Jezebel from TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie, who has a new book (Start Something That Matters) outlining his philanthro-business approach to promote, said in part:

"Had I known the full extent of Focus on the Family's beliefs, I would not have accepted the invitation to speak at their event. It was an oversight on my part and the company's part and one we regret. In the last 18 months we have presented at over 70 different engagements and we do our best to make sure we choose our engagements wisely, on this one we chose poorly."

But a day later yet, July 10th, Focus on the Family responded with its own statement, titled "Focus on the Family Still Wants to Help Kids Get Shoes Through TOMS." It begins "Focus on the Family said today it hopes to air a broadcast featuring TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie, despite a storm of controversy in the blogosphere generated by a handful of groups that disagree with the Christian ministry's views on marriage."

So, it looks like even though Mycoskie has disavowed his appearance at the Focus on the Family event, the group plans to go ahead and use Mycoskie's appearance at its event for promotion.

Calling the response to TOMS cooperation with Focus on the Family "vitriolic," the statement notes that "By contract, TOMS has the right to block broadcast of the program," adding "but we have yet to hear directly from Blake or anyone at TOMS about this situation."

So while it seems that TOMS and its founder is distancing itself from Focus on the Family, it has not gone so far as to disallow the group to use the appearance for promotion.

While many progressives were insulted by TOMS' cooperation with an organization that has been very active about restricting the rights of gay Americans, others found themselves torn. Think Progress blogger Alyssa Rosenberg wrote, "This collaboration may not be good for TOMS brand in the long run, and I think it’s worth watching closely, but if it works out, it could help a lot of people."

Toms isn't the only mainstream brand Focus on the Family has partnered with recently. In March, Focus on the Family teamed up with packaged fruit brand Dole for a nutrition promotion.