The rise of the charity sock

Giving to charity; it’s that thing you do when you’re feeling kind/flush/guilty/upset about particular wrongdoings that have flashed across your TV screen.

You can climb a mountain, cycle across a country (or, for those of us who are too lazy, sponsor people that do!) or even just throw a few coins in a bucket to give charities a bit of a boost. 

But have you ever thought about combining charitable giving with topping up your sock drawer? If you have, there are a number of organisations to choose from.

Comic Relief has successfully included socks as part of its Sport Relief campaigns for years, seamlessly interweaving the sale sporty sock merchandise with its push to get people active – both with the common goal of trying to raise as much cash as possible for all the projects it supports.

And this year a whole month is being dedicated to socks as part of a charity drive. ‘Socktober’ is the brainchild of the Free Kicks Foundation, which aims to auction off famous peoples’ socks during the month of October. 

Here at SockShop we have a whole page dedicated to Dogs Trust. 

But why do some charities fundraise through selling socks? For MAG the reason is simple.

Fundraising officer, Catherine Smith, said: “We use socks to highlight the area of the body most commonly affected by landmines, and they are a cheap and simple way to support MAG.

“For every pair of MAG socks sold, we can clear around 2 square metres of land, making it free from landmines and other dangerous explosives.”