By Cicely Haire
In my opinion, there is nothing cooler than combining philanthropy with fashion. Stylish brands like
TOMS and
FEED for Target allow shoppers like me to give back to the global community while lining our closets with bags, shoes, hoodies and more. Talk about retail therapy!
For that reason, I am so excited about
Warby Parker’s partnership with non-profit organization
DonorsChoose.org. Revolutionary eyewear brand Warby Parker was founded by four friends, Neil Blumenthal, Andrew Hunt, Jeffrey Raider and David Gilboa, with a common passion for helping people in more ways than one. They decided to create a company that would provide high-quality prescription frames and shades (plus a monocle) for honest, reasonable prices. Warby Parker’s vintage-inspired glasses cost only $95, compared to the $500+ pairs you’ll find at most optical boutiques.
WP is able to do this by creating their own, timeless designs and selling directly to us, the consumers. They cut out the extra profits to licensing companies and boutiques, while still offering superior glasses, complete with polycarbonate prescription lenses and anti-reflective lens coating. What makes the brand even cooler is that for every pair they sell, they send a pair to someone who can’t afford them. To promote community sustainability, they also partner with non-profits to teach rising low-income entrepreneurs to sell spectacles of their own.
I mean, really. Warby Parker is like that girl we went to high school with that was doing absolutely everything right. She applied early admission and got into every school. She played three sports, but still looked like a Covergirl. And she volunteered weekly at the Boys & Girls Club, so we couldn’t even hate on her.
The great thing about that girl, and WP, is that they inspire us to be better. And with this new campaign,
Warby Parker x DonorsChoose.org, they’ve set the bar even higher.
Introducing the
Gardner in Whiskey Tortoise sunglasses. The sleek, geometric design features the classic tortoise shell pattern, flecked with school bus yellow, to honor the tons of children you’ll be helping out when you purchase a pair. When you buy these $95 shades, Warby Parker will make a $30 donation to DonorsChoose.org, an organization that allows anyone, anywhere to help fund class projects online. Teachers post requests for materials on the website, like books for young avid readers or instruments for budding little musicians. And once the amount needed to pay for those supplies has been donated, Donor’s Choose buys and ships them to the classrooms in need.
And if you’re like me, and feel especially drawn to a specific project, like rulers for a second grade class in Colorado to use during math and geography lessons, Warby Parker allows you to pick. Select a project you like, and they’ll make the donation. Even better still, WP will still send a pair of glasses to someone who needs them. So, in addition to adding some perfect sunnies to your collection, you also provide the gift of clear sight to someone else,
and help contribute to the growing minds of children.
Warby Parker x DonorsChoose.org might literally be the best campaign by a retail fashion brand ever! With one pair of expertly designed, snazzy shades, you’re literally giving to others twice as much as you treat yo’ self. Can you imagine the good karma?
A wise man, Jay-Z, once said, “The purest form of giving is anonymous to anonymous.” I’d like to add to Jigga’s quote by saying, the purest form of giving is anonymous to anonymous, twice. With sunglasses on.
Let me know what you think of the
Warby Parker x DonorsChoose.org campaign below!
You can check out more from Cicley Haire here:
http://sweatersinaugust.wordpress.com/.
