KNO Clothing: ecommerce venture to help the homeless celebrates its second year

KNO Clothing follows a Toms Shoes, or Warby Parker-esque plan, and then some: every time someone buys an article of clothing from KNO, KNO donates an article of clothing to a homeless person. KNO doesn’t stop there. It also donates 50 percent of its profits to its nonprofit partners working to end homelessness.

In its two years of existence, KNO has had impact. It’s given out more than 1,200 articles of clothing to homeless people and, with its partners, helped find shelter for more than 19,000 people.

Support the startup at its second birthday party this Saturday, Nov. 10 at the Rosenfeld Gallery in Old City.

RSVP here. Shop KNO here. Check out its KNOvember campaign here.

KNO Clothing cofounders Stephen Caldwell (left) and Anthony Thomas.

Founded in 2010 by Anthony Thomas and Stephen Caldwell, KNO partners with a national nonprofit called 100,000 Homes. KNO donates clothing — usually socks, as there’s lots of need for them — to organizations that work with 100,000 Homes. It’s worked with Bethesda Project in Philly, as well as organizations in Chicago, Las Vegas and Harrisburg, Pa.

The company has annual revenue of $100,000, according to Co.Exist, and has been bootstrapped since the beginning. Caldwell says KNO is now looking for outside funding to expand its product line and marketing capabilities. Currently, KNO is a side project for Caldwell and Thomas, who work in investment banking and fundraising, respectively.

KNO’s prices range from $25 for a T-shirt to $90 for a messenger bag. There are also pricier items whose profits will go toward a specific purpose, like a $170 T-shirt that will provide free medical service for a week to people in need.

Caldwell, 27, lives in Fairmount, while Thomas, 27, lives in New York City. The two met while at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa. near Harrisburg. Though the cofounders live in different cities, Caldwell says KNO thinks of Philly as its home base. The team is composed of the two cofounders and four interns.

Read more at the Philadelphia Business Journal and Co.Exist.