Can Toms shoes, the brand built on philanthropic consumerism, sell to private equity without selling out? That's the question some are asking as Bain Capital enters the picture.

"Toms built its brand and reputation through its innovative one-to-one giving campaign, which gives one pair of shoes (and now eyeglasses) to a child in need for every pair it sells. This week, Toms inked a deal to sell half of itself to Bain Capital, the private-equity firm co-founded by Mitt Romney that inspired a thousand attacks on the strategy of the leveraged buyout. The deal values Toms at about $625 million, according to people familiar with the terms." -- Maureen Farrell, the Wall Street Journal