Impact

A BEAUTIFUL PAIR FOR YOU = A BEAUTIFUL PAIR FOR THEM

Courtesy of Warby Parker. Man who received Warby Parker glasses

When you buy a beautiful pair of glasses, shoes, or socks, you could be doubling your efforts with these social impact initiatives that give equally to others in need. There are a growing number of companies that can help you make a difference with every purchase.

Every time you buy one pair for yourself, these companies donate one pair (or equivalent) to someone who needs it just as much as (or maybe even more than) you do.

The one-pair-for-one-pair business model was pioneered by the shoe company TOMS in 2006.

TOMS has already given ten million pairs of its shoes away, and its on track to donate ten million more by the end of 2015.

Warby Parker, an eyewear company, has given five hundred thousand pairs of glasses to those unable to afford them.

WARBY PARKER

Many millions of people around the world who need glasses lack access to them. Children can’t see blackboards in school. Adults can’t work. People can’t see well enough to be able to read.

Warby Parker has a somewhat different model to help them. They tally up the number of glasses sold and make a monthly donation to their nonprofit partners, which covers the cost of sourcing glasses for people who need them.

They believe that donating is often a temporary solution, not a lasting one -- that it can contribute to a culture of dependency.

So, their nonprofit partners, including their main partner VisionSpring, train people in developing countries to give basic eye exams and then they sell glasses to their communities at affordable prices.

TOMS

Founded in 2006, by Blake Mycoskie, TOMS Shoes was the first company to work with the concept of buy-one-give-one to help people in need. He was moved by the fact that the children in an Argentinian village he was visiting were shoeless.

Mycoskie developed the TOMS’ One for One.® program, which matches every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes for a child who has none.

In 2011, Mycoskie took the One for One concept even further, launching TOMS Eyewear. With every pair purchased, TOMS helps restore sight to a person in need.

And now, the newly established TOMS Roasting Co. provides one week of clean water to a person in need with every bag of TOMS coffee purchased.

The results are impressive. TOMS has given more than 35 million pairs of new shoes to children in need and helped restore sight to over 250,000 people.

ROMA BOOTS

Roma Boots joined the buy-a-pair-give-a-pair movement in 2010. The company was founded by Romanian born Samuel Bistrian who was inspired by Mycoskie who wanted to help children in his home country by combining his love of fashion and philanthropy.

These weatherproof boots are a boon to people living in challenging climates, in particular.

For every pair of Roma Boots sold, a new pair is donated to a child in need. As an added bonus, each pair given is stuffed with educational supplies.

And, 10% of all sales proceeds go to the Roma For All Foundation to help these impoverished children break out of their cycle of poverty and despair.

Roma’s mission is: "Giving poverty the boot" by bringing children from around the world hope, love and lasting change through aid and education.

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PHOTO CREDITS:

Photo: Courtesy of Warby Parker. Man who received Warby Parker glasses.
Photo: Courtesy of Warby Parker. Donated eye exam by Warby Parker Glasses.
Photo: Courtesy of TOMS. Recipients of Toms Shoes.
Photo: Courtesy of Warby Parker. Recipient of Warby Parker Glasses.
Photo: Courtesy of Warby Parker. Eye Exam for Warby Parker Glasses.
Photo: Courtesy of Warby Parker. Eye Exam for Warby Parker Glasses.
Photo: Courtesy of TOMS. Recipients of TOMS Shoes with Blake Mycoskie.
Photo: Courtesy of TOMS. Recipients of TOMS Shoes.
Photo: Courtesy of FoodBeast. TOMS Roasting Co. provides water to someone in need when one bag of coffee is purchased.
Photo: Courtesy of Roma Boots. Recipients of Roma Boots.
Photo: Courtesy of Roma Boots. Recipients of Roma Boots.
Photo: Courtesy of Roma Boots. Recipients of Roma Boots.
Video: by Roma Boots on Youtube. Roma Boots - Continuing Around the World.
Photo: Courtesy of Paul Ciano. Warby Parker Glasses