DATA

THE PROS:

Warby Parker has distributed over 1 million pairs of glasses to people in need through their partnership with Vision Springs.

Warby Parker is a certified B Corp.

Warby Parker states that they are carbon neutral.

Warby Parker has partnered with New York City to provide free glasses to children attending some of the city’s lowest performing schools.

The brand was ranked #21 in Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies 2016 for “prescribing social good at home.”

THE CONS:

The brand does not disclose a public list of suppliers or the countries in which their suppliers are located.

The brand does not share any goals that aim to improve the social and environmental impact of their supply chain.

 

/ The brand retails online and has 23 stores and showrooms.

/ Warby Parker is a registered B Corp scored 112 out of a possible 200. The median score is 80.

/ The brand operates on a buy-one, give-one model; they tally up the number of glasses sold and donate to their nonprofit partners, Vision Spring, the donation covers the cost of sourcing that number of glasses.

/ As of April 2015 The Wall Street Journal valued Warby Parker at $1.2 billion.

/ Fast Company named Warby Parker the most innovative company of 2015, beating out Apple, Google and Samsung.

/ The brand does not disclose a public list of suppliers or the countries in which their suppliers are located.

/ A visitor to the Quora site asked founder Neil Blumenthal for more information on their factories. Neil replied with the following:

  • “We actually don’t share the names of our factories. We do this for several reasons (1) don’t want to help competitors/copycats source product (2) don’t want to empower the big guys to potentially disrupt our supply-chain by applying pressure to our suppliers (3) our suppliers have asked us to keep our partnerships confidential to avoid conflict with their other customers.”

/ It is unclear if the brand can trace their entire supply chain.

/ According to B Corp a living wage is paid to all of Warby Parker’s full time and part time employees. It is unclear if this applies to the brand’s supply chain.

/ Warby Parker states that they work with Verité to ensure that their factories have fair working conditions and happy employees. The brand does not explain their collaboration with Verité further.

/ The brand communicates no other information about the social operations of the brand’s supply chain.

/ Punctuated Equilibrium published a blogpost in 2013 summarizing notes from a talk given by co-CEO and co-founder of Warby Parker, Neil Blumenthal, at NYU Stern. In it Neil states that Warby Parker hired a fair labor auditing firm to audit factories where the glasses are manufactured.

/ Warby Parker scored a 22 in the community section of the B Corp certification. The median is 32. The community section evaluates a company’s supplier relationships, diversity, and involvement in local community.

/ According to B Corp, Warby Parker has mapped out all of their greenhouse gas emissions from frame production to shipping to warehousing to office work, and have purchased carbon offsets accordingly.

/ Warby Parker states that they are carbon neutral.

/ There is no other information available on the environmental operations of the brand’s supply chain.

/ Warby Parker scored a 8 in the environment section of the B Corp certification. The median is 9. The environment section evaluates a company’s environmental performance through its facilities; materials, resources, and energy use; and emissions

/ Warby Parker is a certified B Corp.

/ Warby Parker has partnered with New York City to provide free glasses to children attending some of the city’s lowest performing schools. It’s estimated that 20,000 students will receive eyeglasses from Warby Parker during the next four years.

/ Warby Parker reissued Carmichael—the frame they co-designed with Beck—along with an album of music that featured artists performing music from Beck’s Song Reader. Warby Parker and artists’ proceeds went to 826 National, a nonprofit organization dedicated to instilling students with writing skills.

/ Warby Parker collaborated with 826 National’s NYC and LA chapters to design an optical and sun frame. Warby Parker also sponsored two original publications showcasing students’ work with proceeds going to 826.

/ To celebrate a design partnership with Karlie Kloss, Warby Parker donated to Edible Schoolyard NYC, an organization that Karlie supports. The donation benefitted two community farm stands in Brooklyn and East Harlem, where kids learn about food preparation in their own neighborhoods.

/ Warby Parker tally up the number of glasses sold and make a monthly donation to their nonprofit partners, Vision Spring. Vision Spring trains men and women in developing countries to give basic eye exams and sell glasses to their communities at affordable prices. These men and women work to make eye care available to their communities. Warby Parker and Vision Spring have worked to train over 18,000 men and women in over 35 countries to date. To date, Warby Parker has distributed over 1 million pairs of glasses.

/ We don’t have any information on how much the CEO made in the last financial year.

/ In 2014, Valleywag reported that Warby Parker has been criticized for paying its employees low wages.

/ In 2014, co founder Neil Blumenthal wrote an op-ed for The Business of Fashion on how having a mission is good for the world and good for business.

/ Warby Parker is the only carbon-neutral eyewear brand in the world, which means that Warby Parker has mapped out all of their greenhouse gas emissions from frame production to shipping to warehousing to office work and have purchased carbon offsets accordingly. B Corp confirms this.

/ The brand was ranked #21 in Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies 2016 for “prescribing social good at home.”

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VOICES

SAM THIELMAN | THE GUARDIAN

Warby Parker is an up-and-comer in a market dominated by a single entity: the Milan-based Luxottica Group, which owns not only major brands like Oakley and Ray-Ban but outlets LensCrafters and Pearle Vision, and has several partnerships with department and big-box stores including Target. – 4/30/2015

 


HARRY BRADFORD | THE HUFFINGTON POST

An empathetic approach has been shown to help sales interactions for both customers and sellers, according to a 2013 report from Baylor University. And it’s Warby Parker’s “golden rule,” says co-CEO Neil Blumenthal. – 2/25/2015

 


ALEXANDER C. KAUFMAN | THE HUFFINGTON POST

By manufacturing its own frames, Warby Parker avoids the usual price markup that makes other eyewear retailers more expensive. – 4/29/2015

Co-founder, Dave Gilboa on Reuters: “We were excited by the idea of disrupting an industry that had been overcharging consumers for decades.”

A visitor to the Quora site asked Co-Founder Neil Blumenthal for more information on their factories. Neil replied with the following:

“We actually don’t share the names of our factories. We do this for several reasons (1) don’t want to help competitors/copycats source product (2) don’t want to empower the big guys to potentially disrupt our supply-chain by applying pressure to our suppliers (3) our suppliers have asked us to keep our partnerships confidential to avoid conflict with their other customers.”

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