Warby Parker

Have you seen the shoe company Tom's in your local earth-friendly store?  This is the company that donates a pair of shoes to the world's poorest people for each purchase made here in the good ole US of A.

If you like the idea of Tom's, let me be the first to introduce you to Warby Parker.  Clearly, as you'll see in just a moment, Tom's and Warby Parker were separated at birth. 

WP is the coolest idea in eye wear EVAH.  You go to their website, take a quick shot of your mug, then "try on" glasses via the picture.  Once you find up to five frames you like, you tell Warby Parker who you are and they ship them to your house to try on for real.  Once you've decided, you slip on the return shipping label and pop the package in the mail.  All for no dinero.

Say you like one of the looks?  GREAT.  Include your prescription and let WP make a great pair of glasses for $95.  As in $5 less than a hundred bucks.

OK, those of you who have shelled out money in the mall for glasses.  Pick yourself up off the floor and read that amount again:  $95.  And that INCLUDES the free pair of glasses WP sends to an impoverished part of the world, to be given to a low-income entrepreneur (often a woman) who, in turn, sells the pair at a discounted price to a neighbor who wouldn't otherwise have access to glasses.

So, WP provides free glasses.  Free glasses provide a saleable product for a low-income person.  Product is sold at a discount to a neighbor who doesn't have access to glasses or couldn't afford them otherwise.  Shouldn't all business models be THAT COOL?

Mike just received his WP box today and, literally, we were like kids in a candy store.  Of the five frames he chose online, three actually made the cut on his face.  And, quite quickly, we figured out that he could actually order all three pairs, if he wanted to, for the price of ONE PAIR in a local eyeglass shop.  The idea of impacting the lives of several people with this purchase makes me giddy with delight.

Move over Eyemasters and LensCrafters, there is a new sheriff in town.

Check Warby Parker out here.  I guarantee you will be impressed.

And, even if you don't need glasses for yourself, I bet the company vision (har, har) will inspire you to sing their praises to people you know who do.