by Nicole Chan
Luxottica is the largest eyewear manufacturer, distributor, and retailer in the world. Due to the lack of competition of the same size, Luxottica can control the price for the eyewear industry. The premise of Warby Parker is to provide good-looking prescription eyewear at a more affordable price. Warby Parker is targeting an existing issue that is prominent even in a developed country like the US.
Information from Warby Parker’s Impact Report of 2019 said 2.5 billion people around the world needed but lacked access to eyewear, and 624 million people’s vision impairment affected their education or work. Warby Parker has a twist to the purchase-to-donate model for their eyewear. Instead of directing donating glasses, Warby Parker donates the cash equivalent of glasses to partnered local organizations. They have partners to distribute services in over 50 countries. These organizations are already working on providing free or affordable vision care to locals, or training locals to start their affordable eyewear businesses, etc. Warby Parker also works with local government agencies in Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, and local organizations in Mexico to provide free vision exams and eyewear for elementary school children.
As a response to COVID-19, Warby Parker adapted to the changing situation in society and updated their purchase-to-donate model this April. Warby Parker is now donating personal protective equipment to clinics and hospitals in the US through local agencies. Warby Parker values the safety of its partners and local communities. Distribution of vision care and eyewear is only under the circumstances that safe distribution is possible for both the partners and the communities. One of their partners, VisionSpring, is also distributing personal protective equipment to front line workers.
I remember my first pair of glasses cost around $50 in 2005 (two years after the SARS outbreak in Asia by the way). It included a vision exam, frame, and lens. When I moved to Portland in 2008, I was surprised to find out how much a pair of glasses cost. I couldn’t imagine how access to vision care, which should be a basic human right, might be infeasible to many. Warby Parker is more than a less-expensive eyewear provider. They also are providing a ladder to help people around the world to succeed.
https://www.warbyparker.com/assets/img/impact-report/Impact-Report-2019-d.pdf (Links to an external site.)
https://www.warbyparker.com/process/covid-19-response/buy-a-pair-give-a-pair (Links to an external site.)