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Mismatched Socks Sold to Cure Blindness
The latest entrant in the one-for-one model popularized by TOMS shoes is SWAP Socks, makers of fashionably-mismatched socks. SWAP Socks will give 50 percent of its profits to the SEVA Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing sight to visually-impaired people around the world (coincidentally, the same partner TOMS chose for its eyeglass partnership).
Why focus on the visually impaired?
Well, for starters, blindness can be debilitating not only for an individual but also for a whole family because it pulls a potential-earner out of the workforce, and worse, often requires another family member to stay home in a caretaking capacity. These impacts are most stark in the developing world. The statistics are dramatic: 246 million people struggle with low-vision and 39 million live completely blind worldwide. Ninety percent of these live in the developing world, and 80 percent of these cases can be prevented or cured with routine or simple eye care -- from antibiotics to outpatient cataract surgery.
I got to learn about how debilitating total blindness can be at the kickoff event for SWAP Socks' Indiegogo campaign, held at Opaque restaurant in San Francisco.
At Opaque, the meal is served in total darkness (even cellphone use is strictly prohibited), and the waitstaff are themselves blind. While I found the experience of dining in the dark quite liberating -- no one could see me chow down on the piece of bread I mistakenly covered with half the butter in the dish -- my seatmate Julie Nestingen from SEVA reminded me that part of what made our experience fun was that we were all together in our darkness. Individuals suffering from visual impairment must navigate the sighted world in darkness all the time. Imagine how self conscious I would feel if I knew the whole table saw my butter gaffes.
SWAP Socks is turning to Indiegogo to raise funds for their initial run of stylish socks. If their goal of $35,000 is met (and it looks like it will be -- four days in and they are 65 percent of the way there), the company will pay for 40 cataract surgeries -- 20 for children and 20 for adults -- in the developing world.
If you have some room in your sock drawer check out their video below or their campaign here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0vMlNOkxaQ
Image courtesy of SWAP Socks
Jen Boynton is the former Editor-in-Chief of TriplePundit. She has an MBA in Sustainable Management from the Presidio Graduate School and has helped organizations including SAP, PwC and Fair Trade USA with their sustainability communications messaging. She is based in San Diego, California. When she's not at work, she volunteers as a CASA (court appointed special advocate) for children in the foster care system. She enjoys losing fights with toddlers and eating toast scraps. She lives with her family in sunny San Diego.
