It may be better to give than to receive.But just admit it—it’s better to give and receive.And with TOMS shoes, you can do just that.With every purchase of a pair of TOMS, you give a pair of shoes to a child in need and receive a pair of stylish ones for yourself.It’s not exactly the definition of a selfless act, but TOMS’ heart is the right place.And what better way to “feed the children” than by feeding people’s hunger to look cool?Founder Blake Mycoskie started his mission with a mere $500 and 250 prototypes, according to an April Los Angeles Times article.Mycoskie only expected to sell and donate 250 pairs to one Argentinean village, he told the Huffington Post in July. But he ended up selling 10,000 and distributing that same number to citizens of the impoverished region of Misiones.Now TOMS has sold 140,000 pairs and has spread its wealth to several other countries, including Ethiopia, South Africa and even the U.S., according to its Web site.Mycoskie plans to donate 300,000 pairs this year alone and earn $13 million, which will help in his campaign to cure podoconiosis, a deforming foot disease caused by walking barefoot in silica-rich soil, in Ethiopia. This number would probably be out of the ballpark for most charities and shoe companies —but not for TOMS.You see, TOMS is not just a charity.And it’s not just a shoe company.It’s a cult—a cult made up not of Christian crusaders or social activists, and not just of people who want to make a difference.It’s a cult made of up of people who want to make themselves look better, and not just in the spiritual, good Samaritan sense.With TOMS, you can kill two birds with one stone because TOMS sporters not only feel good, but they also look good.TOMS shoes have transformed from Cinderella’s house slipper to her glass slipper.At the first TOMS shoe drop in Argentina in 2006, the shoes resembled traditional Argentinean alpargata footwear.Now the shoes resemble regurgitated fruit roll-ups.They no longer just come in earth-tone colors or canvas styles.Now you can buy a pair of tie-dye TOMS a pair of glitter TOMS.You can choose from Vegan TOMS, fleece-lined TOMS or boot TOMS.You can pick up a pair of Oxford-inspired TOMS this fall.TOMS also recently collaborated with Element Skateboards and Ralph Lauren for pairs of limited edition footwear.I guess since TOMS has conquered impoverished communities, it’s time for them to move on to the skateboarders and prepsters of the world.To convince people to contribute to a charitable cause, we basically have to coerce them with trends and lure them in with fancy-smancy marketing tools.AT&T recently aired a commercial featuring TOMS. And celebrities from the likes of Scarlett Johansson and Kristen Stewart don these shoes with a soul.But it seems to be working. And these marketing schemes are making TOMS — and, of course, the little people — millions — of shoes that is.I’m not saying TOMS is a bad idea. It’s a great one actually because it’s feeding on what people desire most: to be fashionable and to fit in with the cool crowd.So whether you’re purchasing TOMS for the right reasons doesn’t really matter, because in the whole scheme of things, some child out there is benefiting from your materialism.But remember, you are what you eat—or in this case, what you wear.Drew Belle Zerby is a 22-year-old mass communication major from Vidalia.—-Contact Drew Belle Zerby at [email protected]