Warby Parker / Buy A Pair of Eyeglasses & Donate A Pair Of Glasses
Warby Parker is an online eyeglass company that works with nonprofits such as RestoringVision.org to have one pair of glasses donated to someone in need for every pair that they sell. They have distributed glasses to over 36 countries. To have a company make it a business goal to help the world move in a positive direction is an amazing thing. Imagine if more companies were as concerned with improving the world around them as they are with making a profit.
Many of these high end, expensive brands don’t produce or even design their own glasses. They let other large companies do it and then charge a licensing fee to use their name or logo. These big companies are making huge profits and we the consumer are not paying for a better quality product, but instead paying for a name. Think about what all that money could be used for if people were not so concerned with the status symbol that a particular brand invokes.
The World Health Organization has estimated around 1.3 billion people are in need of glasses. Why is the WHO concerned with people’s vision? Poor eye care has a negative impact on people’s quality of life. Their employment opportunities, productivity, and general health are all affected. In most developed nations, there is about one optician for every 8,000 people. In developing worlds this ratio far greater. To give you an example, In Mali there is one optician for every 8 million people. Even if there were access to more opticians, the cost of glasses is still prohibitive to many people. Top that with not having enough distribution facilities and it can become a difficult task in getting the eyewear you need in order to go about your daily life.
In a society where we can find prescription glasses in the nearest mall or reading glasses at any drug store or book retailer the true challenge of getting prescription glasses for some people may be hard to comprehend. It is predicted that by 2030 eye problems will be in the top 10 global health issues, effecting both productivity and opportunity. It is nice to see a company working to stop this from happening.
Visit Warby Parker at http://www.warbyparker.com/ to learn more about their mission, products, and the people they have helped.
