Entrepreneurs use spectacles for a noble vision

Running a new organization is usually full of challenges and risks. And Education in Sight faced its first major crisis in 2014, soon after it was launched.

A concert organizer in Chengdu promised them support to run a charity project in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.

However, after the project was launched to provide spectacles to about 8,000 local students, the concert organizer refused to pay up.

At that time, Americans Sam Waldo and Andrew Shirman did not have other financial support, as both of them had given up their jobs to run Education in Sight full time.

Speaking about that experience, Waldo says: "It was really frustrating and disappointing."

So, to find a sustainable way to support Education in Sight the duo founded Mantra Eyewear, a company that aspires to solve vision problems for students in China while making a profit.

"We saw it as a chance to build a company and have a positive impact," says Waldo.

Unlike Education in Sight, which is an NGO, Mantra defines itself as a social enterprise - an organization for profit but with a social mission.

And it makes donations to support Education in Sight.

According to Shirman, the money Mantra gives is spread across a range of services that Education in Sight provides including providing spectacles, building vision centers, as well as teacher and student training.

Speaking about Mantra, Waldo says: "China has become very good at producing intense output-focused, growth-focused companies. But in terms of social enterprises, it still has not gone mainstream.

"Everything that we (Mantra) provide is related to us being a social enterprise," says Waldo.

"If someone told me that we could start a spectacles company but it wasn't about charity .. I wouldn't have any interest in that."

Mantra is not only working with Education in Sight to help students in rural areas, but is also promoting ethnic culture in western China. And, inspired by its prior experience in Yunnan, it uses ethnic culture elements in its spectacles designs.

Mantra's spring-summer 2017 collection was inspired by Yunnan province.

For instance, the jade green, pink and the black designs took their cues from the Miao and Hani ethnic groups.

Mantra has been endorsed by a list of celebrities including Chinese actress Li Bingbing and Bruneian actor-singer Wu Chun.

Meanwhile, it also aspires to influence the younger generation with its mission and story.

"With young people in China there's a ton of desire for meaning," says Waldo. "We can't make people self-actualize with a pair of sunglasses, but the hope is that for the young modern Chinese .. (the spectacles) can remind them that you can look good and do good at the same time. It's not a compromise."