WEWOOL puts its best foot forward to fill needs

When WEWOOL launched in October 2016, the company set a lofty philanthropy goal for itself—to get warm socks to impoverished men, women, and children all over the world.  Founder Matt Siracusa was inspired to start his company after leading a breakfast outreach ministry serving the homeless every Saturday in Hartford, Connecticut.

“I’ve seen homeless people in the winter, and the greatest need is socks and underwear,” Matt says. That’s why with every pair of socks sold, WEWOOL donates a pair to World Vision. WEWOOL features high-quality merino wool socks of different weights, all made in North Carolina, along with other clothing items and accessories. All of its products are available online through the company’s website, wewool.org.

“I believe most of our customers purchase socks from us because of our support of World Vision,” Matt says.

WEWOOL works with the World Vision Storehouse in Hartford where donated socks get sorted for distribution. Matt also personally volunteers for the Storehouse by helping connect different organizations serving the homeless and others in need to essential resources at the Storehouse—including WEWOOL socks.

“The staff is always so pleasant to work with and, no matter what, our interactions end in prayer,” he says about his time spent at the Storehouse.

Matt and his wife, co-founder Meghan Siracusa, started WEWOOL using funds from their wedding rather than taking out a loan or seeking investors. It was a risky move, but with support from friends in the marketing industry and with World Vision as a distribution partner, Matt felt confident that the WEWOOL model of giving back could be successful.

Matt’s goal is growth and for more retail companies to purchase WEWOOL socks over other brands—not just because he believes they are the highest quality for the lowest price, but also because each sock sale helps someone in need.

“My focus is trying to shake up the way the corporate world thinks about how to do business,” Matt says. “We have so much potential. If 3,000 socks have been donated so far, there’s millions more who could benefit.”