Initiatives Include $2,500 Donation to Pacific Whale Foundation along with Proceeds from Hundreds of Pairs of Sunglasses and Eyeglasses Committed to Direct Relief
Carpinteria, Calif. (September 8, 2023). Blue Planet Eco-Eyewear continues their commitment to giving back with several initiatives for Maui relief. Immediately after the devastating wildfires, the company donated $2,500.00 to the Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF), along with hundreds of pairs of their sustainable sunglasses and eyeglasses. In addition, the company is donating 100% of the proceeds from two sunglasses styles—Classic Ocean Blue with Ice Blue Mirror and Amador Gold with Ice Blue Mirror—to Direct Relief, a top-rated charity that provides medicine and healthcare by equipping doctors and nurses with lifesaving medical resources.
“Immediately after the Hawaii wildfires, we jumped right in to help. Giving Back is in our company DNA. We have been donating to Pacific Whale Foundation and Direct Relief for years—both are excellent charities with a long track record of success,” said Lisa Lawenda, CEO of Blue Planet Eco-Eyewear. “Since our launch in 2009, we have combined eco-friendly products with social responsibility. Our progressive business model helps individuals worldwide and the environment.”
Santa Barbara-based Direct Relief has provided immediate support to help the locals recover. Direct Relief’s first large shipment of medical supplies arrived on Aug. 12 and since then, the humanitarian nonprofit has flown in thousands of pounds of medical aid to help people displaced from their homes. Direct Relief has also made available its medical inventory, valued at over $300 million wholesale, to healthcare providers across Hawaii. The organization has also begun disbursing emergency operating grants to community groups, including $50,000 to Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii, Malama I Ke Ola Health Center, Maui Search and Rescue and Hui No Ke Ola Pono (Native Hawai’ian Health Center).
“We are so grateful to Blue Planet Eco-eyewear for their generous contribution to PWF’s emergency relief fund. The support allows us to extend immediate support and assistance to those without access to basic amenities Twenty-two of our employees have no homes to return to, and many others have been continuously volunteering to help those in need,” said Kristie Wrigglesworth Executive Director of Pacific Whale Foundation.
Supporting Maui relief efforts is a continuation of the company’s ongoing sustainable and charitable efforts. Each pair of Blue Planet Eyewear is made with recycled and/or natural materials, like bamboo, Walnut, Beechwood and Zebra Wood, to help eliminate waste and draw from more sustainable sources. Through the Visualize Change Program started in 2012, a pair of corrective glasses is donated to a person in need via partner charity organizations for every pair sold. To date, the company has donated over 3 million+ pairs of corrective glasses to those in need. Each month, the Blue Planet team volunteers in our local community as a part of our Random Acts of Kindness program volunteer work so far has included working with disabled children, the Humane Society, planting trees, organizing beach cleanups, and providing food for the less fortunate.
About Blue Planet Eco-Eyewear
Since 2009, Blue Planet Eyewear has combined eco-friendly products with social responsibility. Our philanthropic spirit focused on originality, style and sustainability is built around a trend-setting collection of eyeglasses stylesfrom recycled plastics and reclaimed metals, as well as natural materials such as bamboo and wood. Incorporating our Eco-Process™ method to our frames has saved 1000’s of lbs of excess materials from going into our landfills and oceans. Blue Planet’s partners with luxury resorts nationwide, including The Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons
About Pacific Whale Foundation
With a mission to protect the ocean through science and advocacy, and to inspire environmental stewardship, Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF) conducts Research, Education and Conservation programs for the communities in which it serves. Founded in 1980 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to saving the world’s whales from extinction, PWF now solely owns a social enterprise that offers fee-based programs and services through PacWhale Eco-Adventures to help support its nonprofit work. PWF now reaches more than 400,000 individuals each year through its Maui and Australia offices and research projects in Ecuador and Chile.
About Direct Relief
Direct Relief is a humanitarian aid organization, active in all 50 states and more than 80 countries, with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies – without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay.
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Additional images available upon request
General Contact:
Lisa Lawenda, CEO
Blue Planet Eco-Eyewear
805.705.5937
Media Contact:
Nancy Griffin, Principal
Contento Marketing
415.987.0012
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