Polaroid Eyewear Announces Global Collaboration With Sightsavers

ZURICH, March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

To mark the company's 75th anniversary and the launch of the special Best Under the Sun Sunglass Collection, Polaroid Eyewear has announced a worldwide collaboration with the global charity Sightsavers to help fund their work to restore sight and prevent blindness in children and adults living in some of the world's poorest countries.

Available this spring/summer, Polaroid will donate a share of sales from every single pair of sunglasses sold in the 2012 Best Under the Sun Collection throughout the year to the organization. The money raised will help Sightsavers treat some of the 39 million blind people worldwide - a staggering 80 percent of which can be prevented or cured.

"Lens technology, UV protection and eye health have always been at the heart of Polaroid sunglasses, just as much as great styling," explained Jerry Dreifuss, Global Marketing Director of Polaroid Eyewear. "More and more consumers are choosing brands that are a force for good and this is a fantastic opportunity for our optical trade partners and consumers to be part of that movement by helping Polaroid release donations that support the incredible life-changing work Sightsavers does."

To support Polaroid's Sightsavers campaign, trade partners and consumers can choose from 20 unique frames in the Best Under the Sun Collection, each drawn from an original design from the Polaroid archives. Each style comes in two colourways, reflecting styles from the 1930s to the 1980s.

For their anniversary year, Polaroid has also created a new Aviator frame, called Seventy-five. Available in a gold or silver frame and fitted with the latest flash mirror UltraSight™ polarized lenses, these are also included in the Sightsavers fundraising campaign.

For further information on Polaroid's Best Under the Sun collection and Polaroid's 75th anniversary, go to http://www.polaroidsunglasses1937.com and http://www.polaroideyewear.com, or contact info@polaroideyewear.com. To find out more about Sightsavers, go to http://www.sightsavers.org

About Sightsavers

Sightsavers is a registered UK charity (Registered charity numbers 207544 and SC038110) that works in more than 30 developing countries to prevent blindness, restore sight and advocate for social inclusion and equal rights for people who are blind and visually impaired. http://www.sightsavers.org

There are 39 million blind people in the world; 80% of all blindness can be prevented or cured.

In the six decades since its foundation, Sightsavers has:

• Treated over 206.8 million people for blinding and potentially blinding conditions
• Carried out over 7.1 million operations to restore sight
• Trained almost 0.5 million primary eye care workers
• Carried out rehabilitation training to 91,000 people

About Polaroid Eyewear

Polaroid Eyewear is a world leader in optics and lens technology, manufacturing high quality polarizing lenses and distributing fashionable polarized sunglasses, optical frames, Reading glasses, Clip-Ons, premium circular polarized 3D glasses and licensed sunglass brands around the world.
Demand for polarizing eyewear is rising steadily as more and more consumers come to realise the benefits of glare-free vision. Polaroid Eyewear has offices in the US, UK, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Russia, China and the Netherlands, as well as a comprehensive network of distribution partners around the globe.
For more information: http://www.polaroideyewear.com and http://www.polaroidsunglasses1937.com

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Polarization

Daylight travels in waves oscillating in all directions of three-dimensional space. Polarized light also travels, but mostly moves in two dimensions: horizontally and vertically. Vertical light brings useful information to the human eye, enabling us to see colours and contrasts, while horizontal light simply creates optical noise or glare. Where light strikes a non-metallic surface such as water it often reflects primarily in a horizontal plane. This creates a high concentration of glare which can be selectively blocked only by a good quality polarizing filter. Polarizing lenses selectively filter out the horizontal light, thus eliminating glare. Wearing Polaroid sunglasses means:

• Glare-free vision
• Clear contrasts
• Natural colours
• Reduced eye fatigue
• 100% UV protection

Thermofusion™ Technology
Thermofusion™ Technology is the innovative production process developed for Polaroid UltraSight™ lenses. It is used to form lenses and protect the polarizer at the core of the lens. With both injection moulding and vacuum forming, the optical quality of the lens can be compromised during production - Thermofusion avoids this by protecting, shaping and tapering each lens during production, delivering the exceptional optic quality.

Thermofusion™ Technology creates lenses that are optically correct and block glare with great efficiency. They also provide better scratch-resistance, impact resistance and ensure 100% UV 400 protection.