Towards the middle of 2014, the company TOMS had a collection called TOMS Animal Initiative in collaboration with Virunga National Park benefitting gorillas. Then towards the end of the year, they had another collaboration that was for helping elephants. I am pleased that these shoes help gorillas and elephants (and now other animals) as well as the fact that they are vegan and environmental friendly, but I wish the company would keep all animals’ well-being in mind with the production of their shoes. All animals, including gorillas and elephants, are important and it is hypocritical that they are advocating for gorillas and elephants and claim, “The TOMS Animal Initiative is a series of partnerships planned to conserve and protect animals”, but they fail to protect all animals with their utilization of suede and other animal products that are being used in almost all of their shoes. While browsing through the TOMS website, I also came across another quote that I have interpreted as hypocritical, “we are passionate about both the fashion and compassion we offer.” Although the company is compassionate towards the people they are helping, they are not being fully compassionate towards non-human animals. In order to make a better tomorrow, which TOMS advocates, includes being compassionate of all human and non-human animals. Animal lives matter too and should not have to be ended for the sake of fashion when there are faux alternatives that work just as great. I was a very avid TOMS customer, but most of the shoes I own from them are sadly not vegan because I had them before transitioning to a vegan lifestyle. Unfortunately, TOMS classic colors, such as black and white, are not vegan friendly and both my black and white shoes need replacing. I can only speak for myself in this matter, but I also like the feel and wear of the vegan shoes better than the others that contain the suede insole. I have noticed that the suede insoles increase foot perspiration and in turn cause the shoes to have a strong odor. The vegan insoles though, allow for more breathing within the shoes and feel more comfortable in my opinion. I have read the Corporate Responsibility at TOMS on the company’s website and realize that they are making an effort to expand the offerings of vegan and sustainable materials, but I just felt a need to speak up in order to share my views and perspectives. In November I sent a letter I had wrote to Blake Mycoskie and did not receive any type of response so this petition is my next step in my goal towards helping animals. I hope with this petition TOMS will take a step in an eminent direction in helping animals and people in need.