Pala Eyewear: The Ethical Eyewear Brand That’s Also A B Corp

Pala Eyewear is a Certified B Corp that puts people + the planet first – with stylish designs + profits from each pair sold to fund eye-care projects in Africa.

Launched in May 2016 by John Pritchard, Pala Eyewear is made in small batches – at a family-run factory in Italy.

The frames are made using an eco-friendly bio-acetate that is biodegradable – with each purchase including a hand-woven case that’s made using recycled plastic (by artisans in Ghana).

Prior to launching Pala Eyewear, John Pritchard spent many years working a ‘fruitful but unfulfilling’ career at a global IT company, before setting out to launch a ‘people and planet first’ business. Having traveled to Africa in his younger years, he felt an affinity to the people and its culture. However, he also noticed the vast inequality and disparity.

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Once he heard about the issue with eye-care in Africa (10% of the world’s population cannot access eye-care, and in Africa, 73% more people are visually impaired or blind), he knew that this was an area he could make a difference in. As a result, Pala Eyewear was retrofitted around the mission to provide accessible eye-care. Now, 4% of all Pala profits are donated to projects via their charity partner, Vision Action.

Pala built and equipped the Chinsali Vision Centre in Zambia, which serves up to 75k patients every year, as well as helping 12.5k+ patients to receive prescription glasses or corrective surgery. The team are now focused on funding a new vision centre in Sierra Leone – a country currently with just five optometrists among eight million people.

Find out more here: https://palaeyewear.com