*By Samantha Errico*
When Bombas co-founder Randy Goldberg learned that socks were the most-requested item in homeless shelters, he became "obsessed" ー and turned his fixation into a company so he could solve the shortage.
Goldberg told Cheddar Thursday that most homeless shelters ー for reasons of hygiene ー don't accept donated socks. Eventually, he launched Bombas to manufacture a durable, yet comfortable sock that shelters could use.
"For us, we saw a problem that we wanted to help solve," he said.
According to Goldberg, the problem may have been simple, but the solution was anything but. In fact, he said the socks ー designed with high-quality fibers and honeycomb structure to stay up on wearers' heels ー took almost two years to develop.
"There is nothing simple about the sock," Goldberg said.
His design team built two versions: one for regular customers, another for the homeless population. For every pair purchased, his company donates one pair to a shelter. To date, the company has donated over 12 million pairs of socks.
"It's part of our DNA," Goldberg said of this business model.
In order to be more transparent with customers, the e-commerce company has launched "The Bombas Directory," an interactive platform that connects customers to over 1,700 of Bombas' giving partners.
The socks, at $12 a pair, aren't cheap ー but Goldberg set the price to offset both the cost of design and the advanced technology involved in the construction.
What about that pesky laundry room problem? Bombas has a solution for that too: the company just launched a "Laundry Back Guarantee" feature that replaces socks its customers lost to laundry machines and cavernous dryers.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/bombas-is-on-a-mission-to-bee-better-by-giving-back-socks).
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