Vox Veritas: A brand that's good for the soul (and the sole).

Every woman knows that finding shoes that are cute, comfortable and affordable is nearly impossible. But, on a recently stroll through a local shopping mall, I think I may have found the holy grail of footwear.

United Kingdom-born Clarks Shoes have always seemed a little bit, well, frumpy. Sort of like the kind of shoes your bunion-suffering grandmother used to wear. But some time during the past few years, these comfy shoes started morphing into hip footwear for the comfort-seeking city girl (especially their Privo brand). I wandered into the store and discovered that the prices were fairly reasonable to boot.

I bought a pair and wore them non-stop for a week. I’m happy to say that no one mistook me for my grandma.

I was so impressed I wanted to buy more. So I went online and found other funky styles under the Clarks, Clarks Originals and Privo brands. Even better, I discovered that Clarks is a company with a conscience.

Soul of Africa is an organization started by Lance Clark, (a sixth-generation descendant of the guy who founded the company). On a visit to South Africa, Clark saw how many children had been orphaned by the AIDS epidemic, and he saw an opportunity to help by teaching them how to make shoes and footballs (soccer balls). Soul of Africa offers these children, many who are supporting their younger siblings, an opportunity to work for a fair wage. All of the proceeds from the sale of the shoes and soccer balls go to fund orphanages, hospitals and child care centers to help South Africa deal with the overwhelming number of AIDS orphans.

I typically don’t go out looking for brands that focus on humanitarian work, because most companies do some kind of charity just to look good. But when I find one that does it in a way that seems uniquely tied to the brand, is founded by one of the company owners who is intimately involved in the project, and seems to be sincere in finding solutions and not just throwing money at a problem, you can be sure I’ll be loyal.

Now both my feet and my soul feel good. — Karen, Copywriter