Whether you’re listening to classic Christmas tunes, melodies that celebrate the change in weather, or a playlist that will help you pass your finals, quality headphones can be an investment worth considering. The company HeadCase Sound aims to enhance sound quality while giving back to the community.
Founded October 2011, HeadCase Sound has been referred to as “the TOMS of music.”
The company uses the power of music to inspire a campaign that gives back to the global community and believes that it is time for the younger generation to take up arms in the fight against global poverty.
The company’s approach is fairly simple: Customers buy a pair of high-quality headphones for $65, and a portion of the proceeds go to a charity of the customer’s choice.
HeadCase Sound donates $10 for each pair of headphones sold to one of five charities: One Day’s Wages, Global Poverty Project, Soles4Souls, Free the Children or The Adventure Project.
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Josh Fairbairn, CEO of HeadCase Sound, was inspired to start his company after working on a service project in Montreal.
“We don’t want people to have to buy Dr. Dre Beats that are an overpriced $300 pair of headphones. We want to push people to stand up and make a change through a pair of headphones that are affordable, sound great, look rad and give back,” Fairbairn said.
His company develops, manufactures and distributes their headphones, which come in white, yellow, blue, black or red — each color corresponding to one of the charities HeadCase supports.
The headphones have 50-millimeter speaker drivers, flexible headbands and microfiber ear cushions that aim to add style and enhance the sound listening experience.
“Our 50mm speaker drivers allow for extremely deep and clear sounds (created at the same facilities as Sennheiser),” Fairbairn said. “Our headphones are travel-friendly — they come with a travel case that can be thrown against the wall without breaking.”
HeadCase Sound is still in its growing stage but has developed a primary audience that includes music lovers ranging in ages from 18 to 30. It also has an active fundraising campaign through Indiegogo, a new-age crowd-funding website, in addition to a universitywide awareness campaigns.
After seeing the website, Alex Kordas, sophomore in Engineering, said he thinks HeadCase is a great way to get good headphones at a reasonable price while providing to a charitable cause.
“They might not provide the active noise cancellation of a top-of-the-line Beats or Bose set, but passive noise cancellation, a good pair of drivers and a stylish design make for a promising way to beat the ridiculous markup that you’ll see with top-of-the-line products,” he said.
Zoe Fairbairn, marketing lead for HeadCase Sound, said she enjoys her job.
“I love that there are charities incorporated into my absolute favorite thing: music,” Fairbairn saidin an email. “Helping other people while creating an amazing sound for music lovers seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to do what I love.”
Sneha can be reached at [email protected].
