Can a designer sock company help alleviate some of the issues associated with homelessness? Austin McCann, Founder and CEO of Open Thread, thinks so. After coming up with the idea for a graduate school project at Loyola University New Orleans, McCann decided to turn his business marketing homework into a reality. Now Open Thread is already making a big impact in the real world.
For every pair of designer socks purchased through Open Thread, a thick pair of socks is donated to a homeless shelter. Because socks are regularly one of the most-needed items in a homeless shelter, this company provides a necessary service.
At this time, shelters in New Orleans, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco receive bi-annual donations from Open Thread, and McCann hopes to expand that reach tremendously in the near future. The ultimate goal is to provide every homeless person in America with a pair of warm socks, and then expand into outreach for other parts of the world.
Plus, the designs available through Open Thread are both fashionable and meaningful. For the World Traveler collection, McCann designed socks to represent the Americas, Australia, Africa, Europe and Asia, as well as a Unity sock that represents the entire globe. The designs are seriously cool, featuring dragons, lions and even Greek gods. In addition, all of the socks are manufactured in America, at a company in North Carolina.
Although it’s still a new company, Open Thread has already received some serious buzz. New Orleans Saints players Cameron Jordan and Craig Robertson; Pelicans player Darius Miller; and individuals from over 15 states have purchased and publicly supported the mission of Open Thread. In fact, McCann’s original post on Facebook received over 500 likes and 175 shares.
“The response was amazing because so many people love our mission,” says McCann.
Shopping at OTSocks.com and spreading the word (visit them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @OpenThreadSocks) about the organization’s mission just might help make the world a little better for someone else.