Dave Heath, co-founder and CEO of Bombas, started the sock company seven years ago after learning that socks were the most requested clothing items at homeless shelters.
Since then, the company has donated one pair of socks for every pair sold to customers, donating a total of 45 million products, with 3.4 million more planned for this holiday season.
The New York City-based online retailer has also done quite well during the coronavirus pandemic as the economy sharply shifted to favor companies with strong digital presences.
"We're one of the lucky ones that really, I think, were made for this year," Heath told Cheddar.
The company saw 50 percent year-over-year growth since the beginning of 2020, as it leverages the fact that 98 percent of sales are direct-to-consumer from the Bombas website.
Having a strong social mission also appears to have helped the company during the pandemic, Heath added.
"With over 3,500 Giving Partners and an internal team built around giving, we were really made to take advantage of this kind of at-home and give-back mentality that I think we've all been living in," he said.
While Heath has noted that Bombas is garnering interest from special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) about bringing the company public, he said that he is unsure if the company will ultimately go that route.
"I think it's too early for us to tell, kind of, where we are right now," he said. "I think there's a world in which you could see Bombas being a public company, and I think there's a world in which we could certainly stay private. I think time will tell."
In addition, Bombas is hosting a Giving Tuesday webinar tonight that is intended to help attendees broaden how they think about homeless issues.
While those who are suffering from alcoholism, drug abuse, or mental health issues represent a portion of the homeless population, Heath said, there are a number of situations leading to homelessness that are routinely neglected. He pointed to situations such as domestic abuse and economic woes brought on by health care costs as two other common examples.
"I think so many of us, through our own experiences and the media, have this very myopic view of what we think homelessness is," he said.
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