TOMS releases new eyewear line

For every TOMS shoe bought, a pair is given to someone in a less fortunate country. Now TOMS is giving prescription glasses for every pair of eyewear purchased.

TOMS, the charitable business known for combining style and good causes, has decided to expand its philanthropic venture and offer a new product: eyewear.

After a compelling trip to Argentina, Blake Mycoskie, founder and CEO of TOMS was inspired to develop a shoe company with a simple initiative: for every pair of shoes sold, a new pair would be donated to a person in need. Now, Mycoskie is taking his patented One for One concept a step further by producing more than just footwear.

TOMS is partnering with “Sight Giving Partner,” the Seva Foundation, which will administer the actual eye programs. After traveling the world, Mycoskie discovered that many people are visually impaired or blind.

He decided to tackle sight as his second project for helping those in need due to the lack of care for eyesight in many places.

TOMS eyewear comes in a range of styles, with wayfarer or aviator frame options. If you are not sure what pair of shades to choose, there are a variety of choices that range from $135-$145. Your purchase will help the disadvantaged in one of three ways: medical treatment, prescriptive eyeglasses or sight-saving surgery.

Ashley Musgrove, a UNA freshman, was excited when she found out about the new eyewear. Musgrove had on a pair of TOMS and mentioned that she would love to buy a pair of sunglasses just to help a person in need.

“If the quality of TOMS shoe wear is outstanding, I know that the sunglasses will be phenomenal,” she said.

TOMS will continue its tradition of goodwill by offering assistance to people in need of ocular surgery, reading glasses, or sunglasses per every pair purchased. The eye care assistance is said to begin in Nepal, Cambodia and Tibet. The eyewear will be available on TOMS.com and at 70 retailers nationwide.