Meet Kayu, my eco fabulous shades that come in a delicious tone of sustainably harvested bamboo.
Kayu is an ecological and ethical line of sunglasses handcrafted in Asia that are not only straight up stylish and eco conscious but are also preventing blindness in third world countries. Talk about that for a sales pitch! Need I say more?
Actually, a lot more should be said as it turns out that 80% of blindness is curable or preventable, yet 36 million people in the world are needlessly blind.
Avoidable blindness is also most common in the poorest of the poor and has far-reaching implications that touch on all aspects of human development: social, economic, and quality of life.
Since eliminating preventable blindness is considered one of the world’s most critical problems and persists due to a lack of funds, Kayu designer, Jaime Lim, decided to do something about it.
Jamie was born in America and grew up in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong surrounded by a unique contrasting environment of Eastern and Western aesthetic – and great richness and poverty.
Inspired by the beauty of the region and touched by the inequality she witnessed, Jamie created Kayu to give sight to those in need.
As Jamie says, “It’s easy. You buy a pair of glasses, you restore a patient’s sight.”
With that in mind how could I turn down protecting my own baby blues while saving someone else’s in the process AND being true to the environment?
I say get yourself some Kayu! They come with free karma. 
To find out more about Kayu and Jamie, please visit Kayu Design.
By
Beth Doane
Rain Tees Founder and Designer