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This morning, Toms Shoes—best-known for the utilitarian fabric footwear sold under its one-for-one charity model—announced the company's new product category, sunglasses. Priced from $135 to $145 a pair, the glasses won't be distributed in the same way that Toms distributes its footwear—after all, we're not entirely sure how Italian-made sunglasses rate on the sliding scale of need. Instead, Toms will work with the Seva Foundation on sight restoration initiatives in Nepal, Tibet, and Cambodia. The release says:
With TOMS Eyewear, one person buys, and one person is helped. TOMS will help give sight to people in need through medical treatment, prescription eyeglasses and sight-saving surgery, administered by its first Sight Giving Partner, Seva Foundation. Based in northern California, Seva has been implementing sustainable blindness prevention and sight restoration programs for over 30 years. Seva programs and partners have helped nearly three million people worldwide to see again. Nepal, Tibet and Cambodia are the first countries in which TOMS Eyewear will give.· Toms Eyewear [Official Site]