Moeloco is a social enterprise where for every pair of thongs sold in Australia, a pair of shoes is donated to a child living in poverty in India. Whilst primarily an awareness raising program, there are opportunities for schools and groups to raise funds and even design their own thongs.
In a nutshell
Fundraising ideas: rubber thongs (flip-flops) that leave inspirational words on the sand
Suitable for: schools, clubs and groups interested in awareness-raising more than profits
Profit: minimal, but for every pair purchased a pair of shoes are donated to a child in India
The products
Moeloco is a two-fold fundraiser, and not at all traditional. Whilst there is some room for profits to be made by a school or group selling the thongs, the primary goal of the program is the buy-one-give-one principal. In other words, for every pair of thongs sold in Australia, a pair of closed-in canvas shoes will be donated to children in India: children who live in poverty and to whom a pair of shoes might be the difference in being able to go to school or not.
The thongs themselves sell for $45 a pair, which admittedly is expensive for a pair of rubber flip flops. But they are quite unique as far as thongs go, with attractive designs on top and a special relief sole which means that inspirational words are left on the sand, such as ‘Be’ and ‘Happy’ or ‘I Am’ and ‘Peace’.
Money from the sale of the thongs is donated to The Hope Foundation, which then sources and distributes the closed-in shoes in India. The canvas shoes which are donated to children in India are manufactured in India, both to keep costs down and support local businesses.
The Moeloco thongs are designed in Australia but manufactured in China. Moeloco owner Kathy Wong is quick to say that “Our Moelocos are made from high strength rubber in a factory located in Dongguan City, Shenzen and produced safely with no child labour being used.”
The process
Schools can be involved in various ways: primarily as an awareness raising enterprise but also as a fundraiser (there would be a small margin available for schools depending on the quantities sold).
Moeloco also offers a range of interesting projects inspired by the social enterprise method, which could be adopted by schools and groups looking for ideas for social studies or community service projects.
For example
: designing a school project based on the Moeloco social enterprise model, and developing a product or business that gives back.
: creating a pop-up Moeloco store at a community fete or market
: having a competition to design a new pair of Moeloco thongs, which could then be manufactured and sold by the school
: hold a fundraising event such as a walk in Moeloco thongs which could attract sponsorship, the money to be then donated to purchase more shoes. A recent example of a sponsorship walk can be found here, where students from Knox Grammar School walked six kilometres along the beach as part of the Kids Walk for Kids program.
For more information
Head to the website at: http://www.moeloco.com/
