Social Responsibility:-Better Vision for Better Lives

A single pair of eyeglasses could significantly improve the lives of the 300 million + poor in India, by increasing their educational opportunities, self-status, safety, improving income and the ability to perform everyday tasks seamlessly. The economic return on the investment in eyeglasses far exceeds the cost.

Several small and Big Organizations in India are attempting to provide eyeglasses to these 300 Million People who are below the poverty line and who need them. Some enterprises feel creating a batches of trained optometrists as the key to solving the problem; others are focused on cost reduction of the eyeglasses; others like Essilor or Academic institutions are focused on technological and business innovations. The government of India is playing its own role to educate and reach out to this segment of the population.

Optickart –Bottom of Pyramid Approach-a reputed---online eyewear shopping

Optickart was started with the sole belief that eyewear should be affordable to all segments of populaion.Way back in 2010, this belief came true after a social entrepreneur saw the overwhelming impact the cost of eyewear made on rural and sub urban families. This social entrepreneur would see many patients leaving the doctor empty handed without buying eyeglasses. His belief that the quality of life should not be hindered by the financial difficulties led them to start Optickart -the online delivery channel. 

Even today at Optickart we believe in the core principles that we were founded on. Every year through our vision direct foundation we donate eyeglasses to a lot of schools,NGO's and other supporting institutions, all in an endeavor to assist those in need and who cannot afford.

Although every Indian Citizen should have access to eye care, the lack of proper vision is especially impactful for children. Without proper eye care, children are at risk of obstructing their curriculum and social success. For this reason, we have worked with various government schools to provide free eyeglasses to children. The eyeglasses that we donate to schools and other charity organizations are of the same quality as we sell on our retail and online stores. 

All of these eyeglasses we sell to children are made of polycarbonate and MR Material which is highly recommended by doctors .In areas where the children are exposed heavily to sun rays we provide UV coated glasses so as to protect the children from harmful radiations Typically the children does not like to wear heavy lenses and they keep awake for longer duration for their studies, considering this we offer very thin lenses to keep it light weight and comfortable

We are an Indian company and we always believe in giving back to our Community .For this specific reason we are reaching out to the schools, people in the rural areas who cannot afford a pair of eyeglasses. Many do it as part of corporate social responsibility but we do it as part of fundamental Business operation. We just can’t forget the purpose for which the company has been started.

Way Forward for all of us

In one of the research surveys of Stanford innovation council published in 2010 ,says only 12%  of the population in India has eyewear where as 67% requires it .Visual defects are just more than a health problem. It has social, economic and safety implications. While small and Big Organizations have followed different approaches to reach to bottom of the pyramid market, they have not been very successful. One of the key reason being many people in rural areas did not feel the importance of proper vision and even if they can be affordable they don’t want to buy them .

It’s this space that we at optickart along with like minded organizations would like to address. Education to the masses and create an awareness and appreciation of the eyeglasses and simultaneously towards make them more affordable. While realizing this we would like to go through the path of re-engineering and Business innovation.