A group of companies including Levi Strauss and VF Corp. has collaborated on a program to give vision screenings to more than 500,000 footwear and apparel supply chain workers over the next two years, according to a news release sent to Fashion Dive.
The Clear Vision Workplace initiative is led by VisionSpring, an organization which offers vision screenings and eyeglasses. Through the program, it’s offering vision screenings to 500,000 factory workers in Bangladesh, India and Vietnam.
The initiative also includes Warby Parker and Deckers. Each company works within their supply chain to arrange and pay for the screenings. The eyeglasses that are dispensed through the program are funded entirely by Warby Parker.
The group found that one in three workers who participated in the project experienced uncorrected blurry vision. VisionSpring has dispensed glasses to 188,000 factory workers, 78% of which were their first pair, per the release.
There have been numerous initiatives this year to improve the working conditions of supply chain workers in the apparel space.
Labor unions and garment workers in Bangladesh are calling for an increase to the minimum wage before the Bangladesh government announces its decision on the issue by the end of the year. Wage issues in the garment sector have been ongoing and in some cases were exacerbated by the pandemic.
Meanwhile, proposed regulations in the European Union and the United States are specifically targeting increased transparency and better working conditions for fashion industry supply chain workers.
