In addition to all the other awesome things the Web can do, it’s a great resource for doing good in the world. Never before has it been so easy to send money, things, or your time to places and people in need.

The best, and most popular, versions of this are ones that do something for you and for someone else, all at the same time. One of my favorites, and soon to be one of yours, is Tom’s Shoes.

Tom’s, billing itself as “Shoes for Tomorrow,” has a unique way of doing business. For every pair of shoes you buy, one gets donated to a child in need. “One for One,” they say. It really is that simple: you buy a pair of shoes, and one gets shipped to someone who desperately needs them. They say they’ve sent 10,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina and 50,000 to South Africa since their founding, in mid-2006. Their goal for 2008 is 200,000 pairs.

The idea is great, but wouldn’t do much good if the shoes weren’t cool. Thankfully, they’re sweet shoes. Slipper-like, fashion-friendly, and not terribly expensive. They’re a little more expensive than you might expect, but definitely worth it for what you get- and what someone else gets. If you don’t like any of the designs, you can design your own here.

Here’s what I bought, if you were wondering:

I can justify this post for two reasons: one, it’s a great example of how to use the Web to do great and important things, and two, it’s an awesome shopping site. The site is gorgeous, well-run, and the whole company is Web-savvy.

Doing shopping differently is a wonderful consequence of the world going Web. Shopping 2.0 is here.

Check out Tom’s, and buy some sweet shoes, here.