Goal For The Green

About a year ago, Kent Basson, started OddShoeFinder.com, which allows users to buy and sell their mismatched pairs of shoes. It is aimed at people such as polio survivors who must buy a different pair of shoes for each foot due to severely mismatched feet. A few months after starting the site, he was
contacted by several people about accepting large batches of new name brand single shoes.

He started the site after his sister had an injury (due largely to neuropathy from diabetes) that resulted in her having to wear two different sized shoes. He saw that her options were few unless she wanted to spend a lot of money,or go to Nordstrom.  She still lives in their hometown in Alabama, which is far from a Nordstrom.

Kent ended up with over 11,000 shoes that were otherwise heading for a landfill. “We sorted and posted all the shoes we could as mismatched pairs. Rather than buying two pairs of shoes at retail prices, users of the site can buy a pair of shoes that was headed to the landfill for $10-20/pair.”

“We also found a use for boots for which we did not find matches. Construction workers wear boots in two different brands and styles when they pour concrete so that they don’t ruin their good boots,” Kent said.

A lot of perfectly able people also need mismatched shoes.  It is far more common than ever imagined, although most people just buy the larger pair and deal with it unless the difference is extreme. People born with clubfoot are also likely to need mismatched shoes.

He has also rescued quite a few matching pairs from among the thousands, so people who don’t have the problem of mismatched feet also use the site. He has 3000 skates (inline and ice) and cleats arriving next week, so the hope is that lots of people without serious disabilities will use the site as well.

This is not only a great way to save shoes from ending up in a landfill, but also makes filling this need alot easier, and far more affordable.  What a great way to go green and save some green too!

It’s always nice to feel like you’ve found a place to call home on the internet.  We search for a common ground or tie that binds, somewhere to create a trust and friendships that creates a strong bond.  No matter what the group is, the more specific the ties and offerings are, the stronger the friendships and bonds between people often become.

Commonalities are the main focus for many social networking and news sites.  They attract millions of users by having a common thread, that makes us feel as if we “belong”.

Disaboom.com was launched almost a year ago.  The results have created a real sense of community.  The common bond is that it is a community for people who are impacted or living with functional limitations or disabilities.  They also acquired their own dating site calledLovebyrd.com for their targeted group.  They offer legal help, chat rooms, blogs and job postings.  They have acquired an impressive partners list that includes Ford, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, RE/MAX and Avis to name a few.

Web Tribes, is another young site (founded in 2006).  They offer a community that supports those who suffer from depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, addiction, and HIV and AIDS.  Visitors are inspired to join a tribe that focuses on each specific condition.  The user then finds a commonality with others who have the same affliction.  The help is found in the inspirational messages the users send to each other.  They realize that they are not “alone” in what they are dealing with.

The Root, is a news site targeting the black community.  The site includes video interviews, blogs and genealogical information.  They pride themselves in being a departure from traditional American journalism.  They have been doing a fine job of raising the profile of black voices in the media, and fostering interest in black culture around the world.  Theses three sites have really grown in the last year and found their common thread in the world wide sea of the web.

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