"For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.” Sam Levenson
Where did your purchase come from?
We hear that question a lot.
Where did you get those designer jeans?
No, I don’t mean from which department store. I mean which factory sewed those hems? Was it fair trade and produced in a safe, ethical work environment?
It’s a good question. Here’s another.
Where is your purchase GOING?
They say the Internet is pulling us apart, isolating us, driving us further from each other.
I say the Internet has created a world in which we can reach out and connect with each other like never before.
Take Roma Boots, created by Romanian born Samuel Bistrian in 2010, after he spent years watching impoverished children braving the elements with little more than flimsy, broken shoes to protect their feet, assuming they had shoes at all. Many suffered frost bite in the colder months, losing toes and experiencing foot deformities as they aged.
Bistrian himself struggled as a child growing up without adequate footwear in a small village marked by snowy weather and extreme poverty.
“When I was six years old, I received my first pair of rain boots, which were actually passed down from three older siblings. It was such an exciting moment for me because I knew I could actually go outside and play in the snow or in the mud and not worry about my toes freezing.”
Though he later moved to the United States to work in the fashion industry, Bistrian kept the memory of his home and people close to his heart. Then one day he had an idea, one that would change his life and the lives of thousands forever.
His mission? To infuse fashion with charity, passion with compassion, to create Roma Provisions (Roma Boots), where every pair of rain boots sold, a second pair is donated to a child in need. 10% of each purchase also goes to the Roma for all Foundation. For more information, watch this.
This fashionable charity is all about spreading the LOVE; it's etched in every fiber of the products they sell and give; it’s even in their name!
Roma=Amor
Amor=Love
Roma Boots=Love Boots
Roma is also the proper name for the poor gypsy population, the primary group this charity has helped equip with boots so far.
Roma Provisions takes on-and outdoes!-Santa Claus in its quarterly boot drops to distribute the shoes "... on the streets, in schools, parks or inside specific facilities. It is a joy to see the faces of these precious children when we fit them with their new Roma Boots!" Watch this!
Their love and generosity of spirit is bursting from every seam. The boots, made of natural latex rubber, a quick dry cotton lining, and a three layer insole, are produced in a fair trade factory that is routinely monitored for sound labor practices and conditions. Now that's some boots made for walking...and stomping all over poverty!
Roma Boots doesn't stop at protecting feet; they're also about nourishing young minds. In addition to donating a pair of boots to a child, every order includes SCHOOL SUPPLIES. Roma Boots believes education is the most powerful weapon for breaking free from poverty, and they want to give children the tools to step out from under the heavy hand of poverty for GOOD.
With every step you take in your Roma Boots, know that a child is out there taking a step in his or hers. With your purchase, you have opened up new roads of travel that would have once been out of reach, which would have been an impossible dream, but that YOU made possible.
Now that's fashion that never goes out of style!
Feel the connection.
Roma Boots. Good for the sole.
Ready to start splashing in some puddles?
Find out where to buy boots here.
Want to step it up a notch and take part in a boot drive?
Wish granted! Send them an email at partner@romaboots.com.
Learn more about Roma Boots here.
P.S. Have YOU fashioned forward?
Justine Bronfin- Justine authored this blog. Justine just graduated from the University of Washington Bothell and has recently joined the GoodieDo team as a social media intern. Look out for more posts by Justine!
This blog post is about GOOD people doing GOOD things
SHOP for GOOD
we'ar yoga clothing is 
I find myself answering, "Yes!" to just about all of these questions. Right now my family and I are going through a huge transition in our lives, as we are in the process of moving from our long-time home (of over 9 years) in Hong Kong to finding a new city to call home in the United States and we are constantly having to address feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, fear, lack of clarity and the inability to appreciate and love the present moment.
In June of 2010, Cate started 
