We’re supporting the world’s leading non-profit organisation for eyesight protection.
At SunGod, we're all about working with partners who share our mission to See Better. And, we can’t think of anything more fitting than our new partnership with Shades Of Love, the world’s leading non-profit for eyesight protection. Together with Shades Of Love, we've teamed up to collect new and used sunglasses and distribute them in remote high mountain regions.
“We’re the only ones who do what we do. We have a unique opportunity to support these communities and help them to live happier, healthier lives” - Shades Of Love Co-Founder Niklas Huppmann
In the Himalayas and the Andes, most of the Indigenous population lives in extremely remote regions at an altitude of 2,500 to 6,500 meters. The high altitude and thinner air in these regions means that even when it is cloudy, these people are continually exposed to harmful UV rays every single day. As a result, up to 80% of the people in these populations suffer from eye diseases, blindness, or cancer in their lifetime. Many Indigenous people fall victim to eye diseases before they turn 30 years old. The resulting issues - often blindness -means many can no longer work or care for their families.
To combat this, Shades of Love have distributed 460,000 pairs of sunglasses to date to people in the most remote high-altitude regions in the world. What’s more, they also help to fund and facilitate eye surgeries together with local and foreign doctors to prevent or cure ocular diseases.
“We’re excited to be working with SunGod. SunGod products look awesome but more importantly, they are robust enough to endure weather, mountain sun and other harsh conditions.” - Shades Of Love Co-Founder Niklas Huppmann
Through this partnership, we’ve been able to begin donating our factory seconds, to those who need them most. Each and every one of the 248 pairs we have donated so far still offer 100% UVA and UVB protection, they just don’t meet our high-quality control standards - usually due to small cosmetic faults on the frames. This means these communities get to live healthier, happier lives, while we reduce our environmental impact by keeping products in circulation.
How can I get involved?
At the moment, we have a collection point at SunGod Basecamp, our Verbier HQ. So if you’re local or visiting, please feel free to donate your old sunglasses! For our UK and international customers, we’ll be letting you know how you can support this partnership very soon, so watch this space...