fighting poverty with the most powerful tool of capitalism: Brand power. This is about getting one step ahead of the current charity paradigm based on “rich producing for the poor and donating a portion of generated revenues”. Finally, Project TOF is a powerful tool to boost global awareness about UN Millennium Development Goal #1.

PROBLEM:

There are an estimated 2.6 billion people in the world without proper footwear. Moreover, if the world were a village of 100 people, 58 would have at least one parasite, which enters the body either through ingestion or by simply walking barefoot on contaminated soil(1). Lack of proper footwear is a serious hardship, health hazard— and economic opportunity.

As with all basic rights; right-to-mobility is distributed unequally around the world. In 2002 there were 590 million cars in the world. That is one for every ten people. In contrast, in the Central African Republic, Bangladesh and Tajikistan there is one car for every 2000+ people(2). In the poor regions, millions have no access to even the simplest vehicle. Mobility is on foot– Sometimes bare foot. Virgin Galactic prepares itself to send first civil astronauts into space by 2009(3). In a decade of space tourism, each and every human being on the planet deserves (at least) to walk on shoes.

One of the outcomes of high mobility in the developed world is scrap tires. Today’s technology does not allow for re-use of recycled tire rubber in the making of new tires. Because of speed, safety and other performance requirements of tires, they need to be made mostly using virgin rubber compound. As a result, millions of tires find their way to landfills every year.

SOLUTION:

Problems of two worlds merge with one another to yield a solution for all. The idea is to make durable, functional, attractive shoes from scrap tires.In Germany, after the Second World War, scrap tires have been used to make shoes in the hard days. Shoes made from scrap tires are still being used by outdoor enthusiasts because of their durability. If tires can carry cars, they can easily walk people to long distances. It is easy to make shoes out of scrap tires. A detailed description is provided at http://www.hollowtop.com/sandals.htm

The TOF Shoe will be made out of 100% used materials. The sole will be made of scrap tires. The straps will be out of used bag handles, car/aircraft safety belts, or inner tube of tires. The TOF Shoe will be manufactured by “people on bare feet, for themselves and for the rich world”. Please see image 3 for the manufacturing process.

PLAN:

Strong partnerships are required in order to turn Project TOF into reality:
The first partnership will be with a leading tire manufacturer. First contact with a leading tire manufacturer(4) revealed that scrap tires are a cost source for the company on a global basis. Due to environmental regulations, the company has to collect used tires from its retailers, deliver them to a contracted cement factory, and pay for a proper burning process. Therefore, it is likely for a tire manufacturer to voluntarily source scrap tires as raw material for the TOF Shoe.

A key element of this project is the transforming of what to some might appear to be a “makeshift product for poor people” into a fashionable item desired by and worn by wealthy people. We will do this by having the TOF tire shoe designed by a famous designer. Possible designers include Philippe Starck, Bruce Mau, Ross Lovegrove and others. Another possible route we could take is to have the shoes branded as a celebrity shoe— for example, the Leonardo DiCaprio shoe, or the famous soccer star shoe. There could be also be male and female designs, each branded by with a different designer or celebrity.

Partnership with a leading shoe producer (i.e. Nike, Camper, Hush Puppies...etc.) is highly beneficial. This partnership will yield an iconic TOF Shoe at minimum cost, and it will maximize the value of TOF Shoe in the eyes of potential consumers. Another benefit of partnership is to secure retail space for the TOF Shoe at exclusive shops of the shoe producer around the world, ensuring global penetration. Furthermore, the leading shoe producer may take over the design process in case a famous designer does not get on board to create positive change for the humanity.

Finally, partnership with a strong logistics company, human relief, or economic development agency is necessary to transport tires and toolkits to villages/refugee camps that will manufacture the TOF Shoe. Ideally, the logistics company would see Project TOF as a corporate social responsibility initiative and handle the transportation process to-and-back from villages/refugee camps at zero profit.

The TOF Shoes will be a genuine source of profit for the poor in case they are introduced in leading retail chains in the world (i.e., Ikea, GAP, Sainsbury, exclusive stores and website of the partnering designer/shoe manufacturer, amazon.com...etc.) Once they are available to mass consumption, the shoes will boost public awareness about poverty and UN Millennium Development Goal #1. Project TOF uses a leapfrogging strategy at a micro level in that villages / refugee camps jump to one of the most powerful activities of capitalism: Creating brand value.

Once the TOF Shoe gains a certain level of awareness, it is expected to generate significant profit for the villages/refugee camps. However, in order to generate that awareness, media and PR investment is required. UN support may be a way to overcome this challenge. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) may be a potential source of necessary funds. UNHCR raises funds through governments, foundations and private donors so that refugees can be assisted immediately with food, shelter and other essentials distributed by the agency's implementing NGO partners. There are 20.8 million refugees in the world and Project TOF may change the lives of some if not all. Proposed plan is to produce 100,000 pairs of shoes in the first year, to be equally split between villages/camps (shoes for 50,000 people on bare feet) and rich world (profit of around $500,000 to be re-invested in the villages/camps). 80 toolkits will be produced in order to produce 100,000 shoes; meaning giving jobs to minimum 80 “TOF artisans” in the first year. This number could multiply if toolkits are shared within the camp/village.

FINANCIALS:

The objective is to produce 100,000 pairs in the first year to provide shoes for 50,000 people on bare feet and to generate $500,000 profit to be re-invested in the project. If the assumptions hold, the project will become self-sustaining in the end of first year. Project partners will start making significant profit in the first year. Please see images 4 thru 6 for basic financial analysis. Image 5 summarizes role sort along with financial responsibilities. Zeynep Arhon's profile is available at http://www.linkedin.com/

CHALLENGES/POINTS TO CLARIFY:

* Project TOF does not change the fact that tires are environmentally hazardous. It does convert tires into a different material that is friendly with the planet. Even with Project TOF, the world will still have to deal with scrap tires at some point – now in the form of shoe soles.
* Impact of TOF Shoe on health – Direct contact of tire with skin a critical point to check.
* Content of the tool kit should be clarified. The tool kit should be easy-to-use and low cost.
* Although there are examples of making sandals from tires in history and in the cyberspace, the metal wires in modern tires may make manual production harder than it is explained in personal websites.
* Another challenge is to make sure tires are handled properly in villages / refugee camps. Scrap tires may make excellent breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water, such as can accumulate inside a discarded tire. A single tire can stimulate risk of malaria in poverty regions(5).

SOURCES:

(1)http://shoesforhumanity.org/index.html
(2)World Economic Bank, World Development Indicators 2005 Report. Data are from year 2002. Data has been sourced from website http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=31
(3)http://www.virgingalactic.com/flash.html
(4)BRISA; a joint venture between Bridgestone Corporation of Japan and SABANCI; one of the biggest conglomerates of Turkey. BRISA operates with two brands: Bridgestone and LASSA. BRISA supplies both brands to the domestic market and exports these brands to a wide range of countries including USA. Cost of getting rid of one tyre in Turkey is zero, but goes up to 2 Euros in France.
(5)http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/recycling/awareness/facts/tires/tiresfever.htm

Describe the critical need your solution addresses.

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Explain your initiative in more depth and its stage of development.

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How does your strategy and approach respond creatively and comprehensively to key issues?

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