Happy Socks vs All Citizens

Happy Socks and All Citizens are two high-quality apparel companies who unquestionably produce above-average socks and give back to their communities.

Although social impact is not a core part of Happy Socks’ brand or messaging, they do have a charitable effort that focuses on giving back to the LGBTQ+ community, donating portions of their Pride Collection to the advocacy group InterPride.

Meanwhile, All Citizens’ For All Social Mission offers a more holistic approach to charitable giving by donating key resources to communities in need to provide a wider range of comfort - from providing food to homeless shelters, access to clean drinking water, job creation and income stability as well as planting trees in forests across the globe. All Citizens goes above and beyond to help both people and the environment in the pursuit of comfort for all.

Both brands clearly care about their communities, but charitable donations are only one factor to consider when choosing a pair of socks — and there’s so much more to explore.

What Makes All Citizens Ankle Socks Better Than Happy Socks?

Specifically, pricing, features, and design are the big three factors to look out for when shopping for socks.

You aren’t going to buy socks if they’re too expensive. Still, cheap socks won’t be high-quality and will fall apart quickly — you need certain performance features to really make the purchase worthwhile. Finally, if the socks don’t look good, you won’t want to wear them.

It’s important to note that Happy Socks exclusively sells socks and a smaller line of swimwear, while All Citizens sells socks, shirts, pants, underwear, and other accessories. Since Happy Socks deals primarily with socks, we’re only going to compare the two brand’s socks offerings, and specifically their ankle socks.

All Citizens is Half the Price

All Citizens is known for selling designer-quality products at half the price of other premium socks. Here are some pricing examples for their ankle socks:

Once we get to the list of features All Citizens offers, it can be hard to believe their prices are that low. Their continued dedication to democratizing comfort for everyone is on full display through their prices.

Happy Socks, on the other hand, offers more expensive prices for their ankle socks. One pair costs $10. 2 pairs cost $18 and 3 pairs cost $27. While this is more affordable than some other premium brands, Happy Sock’ sock bundle prices are nearly double All Citizens’ bundle prices, where you can get 6 pairs of All Citizens socks for almost the same price as a 3 pack from Happy Socks.

To be fair, Happy Socks does offer a few sock two-packs, sales, and gift sets that can knock down their price a bit, but their sales prices are still higher than All Citizens’ regular prices.

Anti-Chafe Collar

There are few things that can ruin your day - a blister is one of them.

They can be painful, irritating, and won’t go away for a few days. So, not only will a blister ruin your day, but it could also ruin your week. Yikes.

Blisters can form in a variety of ways, but constant friction against a surface is the most common — AKA, the back of your foot rubbing against your shoe without protection. What’s the best way to get protection against blisters and irritation on your feet? Socks!

All Citizens socks are equipped with an anti-chafe collar on the back and the front which prevents any slippage and ensures your skin will never be exposed to the rough surfaces of your shoes. The collar is located along the edges of the sock to form a protective barrier between your foot and anything that might cause a potential day-ruiner.

Happy Socks don’t have an anti-chafe collar, and their socks are aimed at being basics with minimal features rather than being performance socks like All Citizens’ products.

Mesh Breathe Zones and Airways

Ventilation is extremely important for socks.

Your feet are constantly trapped under two layers — your socks and shoes. This means it’s difficult for air to reach and cool your feet down, which is exactly what’s needed in order to evaporate sweat.

All Citizens solved this problem by strategically adding a Mesh Breathe Zone on top of the toes and foot, which is the area that feet sweat the most. Then, All Citizens also added Airways, which is an area on top of the foot that has raised and lowered fabric to create pathways for air to ventilate out of the shoe and for new air to flow in. The combination of these air channels and Mesh Breathe Zone ensures that your feet stay cool and can evaporate sweat incredibly quickly. You don’t want to be exercising in wet socks, and All Citizens can ensure you won’t be.

Happy Socks does not have a Mesh Breathe Zone or Airways on their socks, and they don’t offer any information regarding the ventilation in their socks, so it remains to be seen whether they can keep you dry.

High-Pile Cushioned Footbed

Ever wondered what it’s like to walk on clouds?

Well, with All Citizens’ high-pile cushioned footbed, you won’t have to wonder anymore. The footbed allows for high-impact support, which is especially important during movement-oriented exercises like running and sprints, and also import for just everyday walking.

These types of exercises are when your feet will be moving the most. It’s important that your socks and shoes are able to absorb any impact before it reaches your foot, otherwise, you’re in for one uncomfortable jog.

Absorbing impact is exactly what All Citizens’ footbed does so you’ll never have to worry about having a painful experience when you’re running.

Happy Socks’ ankle socks do not have a cushioned sole, and there is no mention of any impact protection.

High-Performance Fabric

Fabric can make or break the quality of a pair of socks.

All Citizens's socks are made with recycled nylon, recycled polyester and spandex. The recycled nylon is made from recycled fishing nets, and the recycled polyester is made from recycled plastic bottles, so each pair of All Citizens socks diverts fishing nets and plastic bottles from landfills, oceans and incinerators.

Their fabric also contains moisture-wicking and quick-drying properties in addition to being featherlight, eco-friendly, durable, and versatile enough to wear anywhere. The style and fabric ensure you can wear these socks at any time, no matter what you’re doing.

Happy Socks use cotton, polyamide, and elastane in their socks. Cotton is a relatively eco-friendly fabric, but it absorbs moisture and doesn’t wick sweat well, so you’ll be stepping in wet socks on all summer. Cotton is a very thirsty plant and requires tons of water to produce - water that could be used as a source of clean drinking water for families in need.

Although Happy Socks are mostly made using cotton with a mix of Polyamide and elastane. Happy Socks is committed to using all recycled or sustainably-sourced materials by 2030, which is a decade away from now. If sustainability were in focus for Happy Socks, they would have shifted to more sustainable fabrics already.

While Happy Socks only used 12% recycled materials as of 2020, All Citizens’ eco-friendly performance fabric is made using 90% recycled materials - the remaining 10% that isn’t recycled is the spandex, which does not have a viable, effective and durable recycled substitute yet.

Simple, Minimal Design

When it comes to design, Happy Socks and All Citizens couldn’t be more different.

All Citizens prefers a cool, classy, and minimalist design with a complementing two-tone design that you can wear anywhere. Happy Socks certainly don’t lack creativity as they offer tons of unique and bright patterns and designs.

Obviously, how you want your socks to look is depending on your style and mood, so you can’t go wrong with either aesthetic. A minimal and classic look is more versatile though, and it matches a lot more outfits.

This is why All Citizens utilizes a two-color design on their socks so that you’ll never have trouble finding a match when you’re scrambling to get out the door in the morning.

All Citizens Makes Performance Socks for Everyone

It’s important to say once again that neither of these brands produces poor-quality socks. They are both undoubtedly good at what they do, no matter how you slice it.

However, it’s clear that when you factor in the features, price, and overall quality, All Citizens simply produces better apparel at a better price. It’s hard to beat $6 for a designer-quality sock.

Join All Citizens on their mission to democratize comfortl, and be sure to check out their social mission here.

Sources:

Blisters | Johns Hopkins Medicine

How Sweat Works | Houston Methodist

Can Fashion Ever Be Sustainable? | BBC

Is Polyamide Vegan + Sustainable? | Healabel