The same article of clothing that some of us literally walk all over is the same item being used to address today’s most urgent social issues.
So, if we’re already buying socks, why not make a difference doing it?
Supporting businesses that actively seek ways to connect us to important causes is an almost seamless way of ensuring that our purchases are met with positive, sustainable solutions.
We’ve curated the ultimate list of sock companies that are making it easier for us to elevate our sock game while supporting the causes we care most about.
By the way, some of the products and links in this article are partners and affiliates, which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Everything in this article was independently and honestly written by the Good Good Good team. Thank you!
Shop the best socks for a cause —
Conscious Step
Conscious Step creates stylish, sustainable, and cause-centered socks that are vegan, GOTS Organic, and Fair Trade-certified. Every pair gives back to a dedicated nonprofit organization:
- … that conserves rainforests
- … that educates kids
- … that empowers women
- … that provides meals
- … that protects pollinators
- … that finds a cure
- … that saves shelter animals
- … that plants trees
- … that protects endangered species
- … that provides water
- … that restores oceans
- … that saves LGBTQ+ lives
- … that supports mental health
- … that supports self-checks
- … that protects national parks
- and more!
To date, customers have helped contribute more than $1.7 million (and counting) to organizations!
Whether you’re in the market for a pair of crew or ankle socks, a thoughtful gift box, or a subscription service featuring different causes and designs every month, this company provides an easy gateway for you to give back.
Conscious Step is also a part of 1% for the Planet, meaning it gives 1% of its annual gross sales to the organization’s approved nonprofit partners that are working towards environmental solutions.
→ Shop socks from Conscious Step
Bombas
Socks are the #1 requested item in homeless shelters, and Bombas provides socks to individuals facing housing insecurity across the U.S.
The B Corp-certified business was named after the Latin word for ‘bee,’ because Bombas believes that just as bees work cooperatively to make the hive a better place, so too should humans.
For every item purchased, an equal item is donated to Bombas’s network of over 3,500+ Giving Partners, including overnight shelters, transitional living facilities, street outreach teams, rehabilitation centers, Title 1 schools, and medical service professionals. That’s a lot of toasty toes!
To date, customers have had a hand in donating over 150 million essential clothing items. Bombas has also expanded its product offerings to underwear and shirts — the #2 and #3 most requested items at shelters.
Parks Project
Parks Project was born out of its founders’ love for national parks and desire to see them flourish.
Purchasing socks from Parks Project means investing in advocacy and education, habitat and wildlife restoration, visitor programs, and youth initiatives. That’s a lot of power in just one pair of socks!
The brand offers retro and nature-inspired sock collections of crew and fuzzy socks that are great to pack on your next hiking trip.
To date, Parks Project has contributed over $2.7 million to help fund vital projects in national parks around the U.S. — including some of your favorite national parks like the Grand Tetons, the Great Smokey Mountains, and more!
PS, if you or someone you know is also a big national park fan, we’ve got the gift guide for you!
→ Shop socks from Parks Project
Pact
Pact is a clothing brand that partners with Fair Trade-certified factories to make socks and other basics from organic cotton and earth-friendly materials. The brand uses sustainable manufacturing practices that aim to support both people and the planet.
Its men’s and women’s sock collections come in a range of fun designs and styles. Each product page discloses where the socks were made and the resources used (and saved).
The give-back component comes in Pact’s partnership with Give Back Box, which offers its customers a zero-hassle, free (yes, free!) way to donate gently used and forgotten items to participating charities.
→ Shop socks from Pact (and Give Back, too!)
Awesome Socks Club
Awesome Socks Club is a monthly sock subscription service that donates 100% — yes, 100% — of its profits towards decreasing maternal and child mortality in Sierra Leone — the country with the highest rate of maternal death in the world.
Headed by famed YouTubers, authors, and philanthropists John Green and Hank Green, Awesome Socks Club mails subscribers a uniquely designed pair of socks every month. And, y’all, they really are awesome.
So far, purchases made through this — and the Green brothers’ Good Store — have helped build a hospital in Sierra Leone where the next generation of Sierra Leonean healthcare workers will be trained.
Readers can take 30% off their order with code GOODGOODGOOD30.
→ Subscribe to Awesome Socks Club
Darn Tough
Darn Tough is a family-owned business (and the fastest-growing American manufacturer of performance outdoor and lifestyle socks) committed to crafting premium merino wool socks to help end food insecurity in Vermont.
The company, which has been hand-knitting socks for 40 years, has served over one million meals to its local community through its Knit to Give efforts — an online-exclusive program that features uniquely designed socks every quarter.
Each pair is created with overstock yarn — excess material from knitting mills — with profits supporting food banks, trail conservation, and more.
Solmate Socks
You might just fall in love with Solmate Socks. This cleverly named B-Corp-certified company has been in the sock game for over 20 years. Through its Solmate Socks Give Back Collection, each purchase contributes to various charities across the U.S. supporting ocean conservation, saving the bees, and more!
Its vast sock collection has something for kids and adults alike, including made from sustainably-sourced, eco-friendly fibers. You love to see it (and step on it).
All of the brand’s products, including its socks, are manufactured at its own mill in Hickory, North Carolina. Solmate takes pride in not only supporting important causes but also in caring for its employees by paying each of them a living wage and medical benefits — which only a handful of mills in the American hosiery industry offer.
→ Shop socks from Solmate Socks
Shongolulu
Help protect wildlife just by stepping into the world. Shongolulu is a wildly passionate brand dedicated to protecting endangered animals and their habitats. A portion of the proceeds generated from each sock purchase goes towards global wildlife conservation efforts.
The organizations Shongolulu support are committed to fighting poaching and deforestation, as well as rehabilitating and releasing injured animals back into the wild. (Which is a lot better than my dog stealing my socks when I’m trying to do laundry).
Shongolulu’s mission isn’t solely focused on financially contributing to conservation efforts. Each pair of socks (like these cheetah and elephant pairs) highlight an endangered animal in an effort to provide lasting impact through education and awareness.
Maggie’s Organics
While you may have used an old sock as a DIY duster around your house, Maggie’s Organics is on a mission to clean up the apparel industry in a different way.
Each purchase goes towards supporting immediate and long-term needs facing our planet — such as helping Ukrainian refugees, organizations protecting endangered species, and community-led reforestation projects.
Maggie’s Organics includes a variety of fair trade, organically grown cotton and merino wool socks for kids and adults — even for those who have highly sensitive skin! Each pair is made by skilled workers who earn a fair, living wage and work in co-ops (that Maggie Organics helped build).
→ Shop socks from Maggie's Organics
United By Blue
One brand’s trash is another brand’s treasure.
United By Blue is a B Corp and Climate Neutral-certified outdoor clothing brand obsessed with trash — particularly its negative impacts on our environment.
For every product purchased, a pound of trash is removed from oceans and waterways. To date, the brand has cleaned up 5.3 million pounds of trash (check out its popular community clean-up events!).
Among many of the products it offers, United by Blue’s socks are responsibly made and sourced in the U.S. Each pair is crafted to be durable, antibacterial, and softer with every wear. Not only that, but the company partners with third-party-verified factories that hold the highest standards for its facilities and personnel.
→ Shop socks from United By Blue
Hippy Feet
Hippy Feet is a sock and apparel brand on a mission to support organizations serving homeless youth. The company donates 50% of its net profits to organizations providing “the holy trinity” of social services: housing initiatives, employment and job readiness programs, and healthcare. They have given over $80,000 to date!
Offering a variety of colorful designs and styles for men and women, Hippy Feet makes each pair of socks out of sustainable materials like recycled cotton.
You can also participate in Hippy Socks’ Sock of the Month Club, where the brand ships out a pair of socks that directly contribute to programs providing valuable resources to youth experiencing homelessness each month.
Bonfolk
Bonfolk is a female-founded brand focused on providing essential items (like socks and towels) to homeless service organizations across the U.S. And its socks are super cute, too!
For each whimsical, unique pair of socks that are purchased, one is donated to nonprofits across the U.S — and 500,000 pairs of socks have been donated to date.
The socks donated to shelters are not just any kind of socks, but are specially designed to withstand constant daily wear and tear, contain reinforced soles, and have moisture-wicking technology.
Go beyond buying socks — donate socks in your community
Want to take matters into your own hands? Look into local nonprofits, community closets, or schools that accept gently used or brand-new sock donations. Whether you donate what you already own or bulk-purchase socks to donate, try to be mindful of the condition and quality of the items.
While any pair of socks certainly help, most aren’t designed for continual use. Opt for natural moisture-wicking crew socks with anti-microbial treatment — which help create an environment less prone to the growth of fungus and bacteria, and are a little more durable for continuous everyday use.
