Growing up in the U.K., Josh Turner didn’t have the best relationship with education. He was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was eight, though many of his teachers still dismissed his struggles as laziness. “I was always bombing my classes,” he says.

Josh Turner, Stand4Socks (asi/88996)

Throughout his school years, he also routinely found himself in the headmaster’s office, reprimanded for selling fake IDs or various other schemes of dubious legality. “I was always getting in trouble,” he recalls. “Luckily, I was never expelled, but I was very close to being kicked out multiple times.”

The headmaster lauded Turner’s entrepreneurial spirit and the way he could problem-solve his way out of any obstacle but urged Turner to put those skills toward a more noble aim.

Stand4 Socks (asi/88996) donates a thick antibacterial pair of socks to homeless shelters for every pair it sells.

Turner ended up doing just that, launching his company Stand4 Socks (asi/88996) just over a decade ago, after being laid off from a corporate job at the age of 23. The idea was to use colorful socks as a launchpad to “change the world” by supporting various charitable causes. For instance, Stand4 Socks designed a pair of socks to support gender equality and educate children in Afghanistan. Another stock design raised money to help reduce child mortality. Sales of baby blue socks were designed to help vaccinate children against measles.

But it wasn’t until Stand4 Socks created an unpopular design that wasn’t selling well that the supplier found its true mission. “We’d lost loads of money, and I was really fed up,” Turner recalls. “So, I decided to take them to a homeless shelter to see if I could donate them there.”

It turned out, he adds, that socks are one of the most-requested items at homeless shelters, since they are wear-through garments that are discarded rather than donated. “Homeless people can walk as many as 10 miles a day without fresh, clean socks, which can lead to a number of very serious foot health issues,” Turner says.

Stand4 Socks developed a special type of sock for homeless people, making sure the socks were naturally antibacterial and thick to help keep feet warm during the colder months, according to the company website. The supplier gives out one pair of socks to homeless shelters for every pair sold. Stand4 Socks has donated more than 850,000 socks globally so far, and Turner says his company is on track to cross the million mark by the end of 2026.

A social enterprise and certified B Corp, the company takes environmental sustainability just as seriously as it does social responsibility. The supplier produces socks in a factory that’s solar paneled, it only uses sustainably sourced materials such as OEKO-TEX-certified organic cotton and all of its packaging is FSC-certified, Turner says. When Stand4 Socks went up for B-Corp recertification this year, he adds, the company’s score jumped up around 20 points, thanks to holistic factors like how staff members are treated and the care the supplier takes when building its supply chain. “We’re very proud of that,” he adds. “It’s not just a greenwash.”

Stand4 Socks first branched into the promo world after fashion brand Burberry reached out asking for custom socks for an event. “I love to say I’m a global fashion designer to my wife,” Turner quips.

Custom brand work continued to snowball after that first foray into the promo market, and soon enough the company had joined the British Promotional Merchandise Association. About four years ago, Stand4 Socks jumped across the pond to begin selling its socks in the U.S.

Turner explains that one of the company’s European end-buyers expanded to the United States and told the Counselor Top 40 distributor it was working with that it would only source socks from Stand4 Socks. “A lot of our clients are really sticky,” he adds.

In many ways, Turner attributes his success to the very trait his teachers believed would hold him back. Rather than viewing dyslexia as a disability, he says, “I genuinely always say it’s my superpower.”

Creativity, problem-solving and the other skills that make him a good entrepreneur stem from his dyslexia, Turner says, and as for things like reading, writing and spelling, there are so many tools today – including AI and voice notes – that fill in what he lacks. 

Josh Turner says Richard Branson (left) is his role model because the founder of Virgin Group showed that dyslexia is not an impediment from finding business success.

Since launching Stand4 Socks, Turner says he’s been back to his childhood school many times, speaking with sixth-formers (the British equivalent of high school juniors and seniors) about being a successful entrepreneur.

“It’s changed so much since I was in school,” Turner says. “It’s funny to go back, and they’re celebrating and shouting about my dyslexia. … It’s more of an inspiring thing, versus a negative, which is amazing to see.”

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