These hats protect your head — and your mind.
Ben Miller knows far too much about how people are struggling emotionally right now. He’s the co-founder of Vancouver-based WIRTH Hats, a company he created to honour his friend Jakob Wirth, who talked a lot about his love of hats, but not enough about his battle with depression.
In 2014, Wirth died by his own hand. Just two years later, another of Miller’s close friends also committed suicide.
And so the idea for WIRTH came into being: “A social hat company that cares about mental health. Our goal is, one-for-one, with every purchase we pay for someone’s counselling.”
WIRTH produces high-quality tuques (beanies), bucket hats and ball caps, and works in partnership with teams, businesses or other organizations to create custom designs. But it also aims to reduce the stigma around mental illness and make counselling accessible to people who might not otherwise be able to afford it. So far, WIRTH has sponsored more than 6,500 counselling sessions.
Miller calls his hats “a hug for your head,” and honestly, couldn’t we all use one of those? wirthhats.com