In 2006 Blake Mycoskie had an idea. He designed a comfortable and stylish shoe that when people bought a pair of these shoes, he would give a pair to an impoverished child in a developing country. Eight years later, Toms Shoes is a thriving business with its’ shoes being sold in over 500 stores nationwide, and has given over a million pairs of shoes to people in third world countries.
With SOLO Eyewear, Jenny Amareneni wants to revolutionize sunglasses and eye care similarly to Blake wanted to do with shoes.
Scratch that-she IS revolutionizing sunglasses and eye care.
With each pair of SOLO Eyewear sunglasses that are bought, funds are raised to provide prescription glasses and sight saving eye surgery. To date, SOLO has restored vision for over 9,000 people in need around the world. And the company is only growing.
There are a couple of other socially responsible companies out there doing similar work to SOLO Eyewear, but none that are as cool as SOLO’s glasses in my opinion. The sunglasses use recycled bamboo for the temples and have a wide range of color choices to pick from. I tried out the polarized T-Woods, ($89) one of their classic models, and have gotten compliments from friends and strangers alike. As they are so unique, people tend to notice them and I have found it’s a springboard for a conversation about the company and their eye care mission.
The sunglasses fit well on my face, and were comfortable to wear all day long. The smooth, recycled bamboo is durable and nestled perfectly on my head when I would be inside and not needing to wear them. I did find that since the fit is unisex, the glasses were a bit loose, and they sometimes would fall off my head if I leaned too far back. The good news with this is a I never felt they were tight and constrictive; the bad news of course is that they didn’t stay put sometimes.
If you thought plain bamboo was boring, then you have to check out the artists collection from SOLO. These sunglasses are hand painted by local artists (three in total as of now) who all have their own unique style and design. No two sunglasses are exactly the same of the thirteen choices since each is painted one at a time. My favorite design is the tiger, though the jellyfish and peacock are close second and thirds. The price tag is hefty ($160), but think of it as art that you wear. (Not to mention supporting a good cause, too.)
What I loved:
- Gorgeous, simple design.
- Supporting a good cause.
- Using recycled bamboo as their building material.
- Artists collection are one of a kind.
Not so much:
- Definitely a lifestyle model, not for high activity (i.e jogging or running).
- Unisex fit can be a bit big on smaller heads.
You can learn more about SOLO Eyewear and check out the sunglasses yourself here at the SOLO Eyewear website.
Adventure On,
Joslin