Bird Eyewear certified B corp, a sustainable business!
Bird makes beautiful, pioneering, and design-led eyewear using high quality and sustainable materials, and for every pair sold they distribute solar light to remote communities in Africa through their Share Your Sun partnership with SolarAid.
In April 2020, Bird Eyewear became the first UK eyewear company to become a certified B Corp, in recognition of their outstanding commitment to sustainable and ethical business. With this, it also became the third eyewear brand to achieve B Corp status.
What does it mean to be certified B corp?
Certified B Corporations are businesses that balance purpose and profit, and are committed to prioritizing the environment and society in the way they do business. They are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. The rigorous certification process is third party verified.
There are currently over 2,500 Certified B Corporations in more than 50 countries. They include well-known brands such as Patagonia, Finisterre & Ben & Jerry’s. Bird is one of only three B Corp eyewear brands in the world. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.
Being a B Corp is legally binding and publicly transparent.
Founder Ed Bird says “For us, B Corp Certification is a stamp of approval from a trusted source. The demanding application process was an opportunity to re-examine the business we’re creating and hold it up against the gold standards of ethical business. We’re delighted to have achieved B-Corp status and will continue to build on this firm foundation as we grow. It’s great to be part of a global movement of companies using business as a force for good.”
What are the benefits of buying from Bird?
With each pair of Bird frames purchased, families in Africa benefit from solar light. These solar lamps replace the standard kerosene lamps that are in most households. By eliminating dirty kerosene lamps, families benefit from better health, leading to better mental wellbeing, fewer hours of work, and school missed and enabling people to be more productive, as well as saving CO2.
Polarised lenses reduce glare, enhance colours and sharpen vision. 100% UVA and UVB protection (UV400) comes as standard. Each pair comes with a Share Your Sun microsuede cloth, leather strap and either soft cork or beautiful handmade leather case.
The BIRD’s Story
Bird was launched in March 2017 by three brothers from Devon who share a love of design and adventure. They founded the business to combining their skills in creativity, business, and social purpose, and have built-in a commitment to people and the planet to every part of our business. Bird’s sustainable business model focuses on doing more with less.
They have put the utmost care into the manufacturing process, from designing their signature feather etching to building ongoing relationships with manufacturers and partners.
Frame of the Year
In 2019, Bird won Frame of the Year with the Blackcap frame at the Opticians Awards, beating huge international competition, and they have been nominated for Frame of the Year again in 2020.
Bird Eyewear aims to drive change in the eyewear industry by designing beautiful frames that both look good and do good. In contrast to most eyewear companies, which use cheaper plastic injection molded frames, which are produced cheaply and contribute to a fast fashion, throwaway culture, Bird’s premium frames use materials including FSC certified wood, bio-based acetate, and repurposed aerospace aluminum.
“Looking good is one thing – but doing good is so much more important. Share Your Sun is a way to connect with the bigger picture and contribute to a more sustainable world. That’s the power of #shareyoursun”. – Ed Bird
The Share Your Sun partnership harnesses the undeniable cultural associations between sunglasses, sunshine, and feeling good. By this, they hope it inspires customers about the power of solar energy to make a difference in poorer communities.
The impacts of the changing the world while looking sharp strategy
The solar lamps that take the place of the standard kerosene lamps in Africa are for the most part used by children to complete their homework after dark, meaning better grades, leading young people towards higher education and brighter futures. Those families benefit from a better health.
Since the beginning of their partnership with SolarAir Bird has reached 3598 people and provided over 670,000 extra hours of study time! Solar lamps also mean that families save on buying fuel for their kerosene lamps – 40% of families will never have to spend money on lighting ever again!
With each pair of Bird sunglasses purchased, a family in Africa benefits from a solar lamp.
Not only do solar lamps save the health and money of African families, but they also save the planet. In the past 3 years Bird has averted over 708 tonnes of CO2 from polluting the atmosphere. Looking good is one thing, but doing good is a whole different ball game and Bird Eyewear strives to help the environment as well as people in need.