Best Foot Forward

Lucy Jeffrey's love of animals has led to a successful sock business supporting wildlife conservation

Lucy Jeffrey grew up in Kent, the Garden of England, surrounded by pets. From childhood she developed a deep love of animals an enduring love that has become the driving force of a successful business supporting endangered animal species around the world.

Bare Kind produces a vast array of colourful bamboo socks with delightful animal designs, with 10% of profits going to wildlife conservation and animal protection charities. It all started in 2016 when Lucy, aged 23, was ensconced in a post-graduate corporate job feeling like "a tiny cog in a big machine", with a yearning to do something meaningful for the planet.

She started dabbling in a side business, producing reusable straws after seeing the harm plastic pollution was causing ocean wildlife.

Thinking big, she then decided to expand and find a product that could support a multitude of endangered animals globally. She tried T-shirts and tote bags and then struck on socks.

"While I support recycling clothes, most people will not buy second-hand socks. They are an essential personal item that consumers want to buy new," Lucy says.

"Bare Kind socks are so much more than ordinary socks. Their beautiful animal designs are a way of expressing yourself and supporting the animals you care about."