Pala Eyewear x Altruist Sunscreen
Two ethical brands with a shared vision: to protect and support the most vulnerable; dedicated to giving back to those that need the most –
Altruist Sunscreen has joined eyecare and sunscreen forces with Pala Eyewear to see a better future for all – with an eye on the most in need in Africa.
We are teaming up this month to offer a free tube of Altruist Sunscreen SPF50 for the first 120 Pala sunglasses bought in June 2022. A 5 star, Boots rated, high SPF and high PPD broad spectrum sunscreen designed with world-class protection filters.
Together, we’ll also be celebrating this new partnership with an exclusive giveaway across both our Instagram channels @palaeyewear and @altruistsun. Follow us to find out more and to play your part in supporting our great causes.
Here’s our story… read on to understand why supporting communities in Africa brought us together.
Pala Eyewear founder John and Altruist founder David, met in a warehouse housing both our products for distribution and discovered a shared belief in giving back and making a difference.
After a brief chat and a lot of mutual respect, they discovered that both their brands and products were doing great things for communities in Africa; communities that were benefiting from fair trade, better vision and vital protection from the sun because of what they do.
For every pair of sunglasses sold, Pala gives back to eye-care programmes across Africa.
For every Altruist product sold, 10p is donated to charities that deliver Altruist sunscreen to protect and educate children with albinism in parts of Africa
Altruist Sunscreen; Focused on a vision and a mission
Altruist was created by Dr Andrew Birnie and David; two friends who met in Africa many years ago whilst working in Durban, South Africa.
David Westerbeek van Eerten is a Dutch economist who has worked in skincare his whole life and Dr Andrew Birnie is a British Consultant Dermatologist based in Kent who specialises in skin cancer and Mohs micrographic surgery.
Together they set out with a vision: to reduce the incidence of skin cancer by enabling more people to use more sunscreen. Together with the help of the best scientists in Europe and BASF they created an exceptionally high quality sunscreen at the lowest possible price.
By creating an affordable, high quality sunscreen with world-class protection, Altruist hopes to be part of the solution that helps reduce the incidence of skin cancer – because skin cancer can affect anyone and is the most common of all cancers. It is also the most avoidable. Research shows that correct sunscreen practice (prevention) and early detection (cure) saves lives.
Pala Eyewear & Eye health in Africa – the challenges faced
According to the IAPB, Africa has 73% more blind and visually impaired people than any other region in the world, which when untreated inhibits reading, learning, accessing education and job opportunities.
Eye care facilities are few are far between in remote regions of Africa, such as Zambia, Ghana and Ethiopia where Pala has contributed to projects before. For example, Sierra Leone has just 5 qualified optometrists for 7 million people. But this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the challenges faced. Financial, social and cultural barriers are one of the biggest obstacles, and without addressing these, new centres and trained optometrists just wouldn’t get used.
After extensive travel through sub-Saharan Africa, founder John started this brand with the central purpose of improving these statistics and providing affordable, accessible eye care for communities across Africa.
Albinism – a story of skin cancer and eyesight
What is albinism?
Albinism is a genetic condition, more prevalent in Africa. It results in a person looking white due to a lack of pigmentation in the hair, skin and eyes. People with albinism are visually impaired and highly vulnerable to sun exposure resulting in these high rates of skin cancer.
In Tanzania, and many parts of Africa, having albinism is a sentence to a harsh life and early death. As well as the extreme danger from UV exposure they face, there is a societal ignorance about the condition, as well as long-standing beliefs associated with witchcraft. All together this leads to the dehumanization of people with albinism.
This is why Altruist supports charities that help children with albinism in Tanzania and the rest of Africa. Because we believe everybody should have an equal opportunity to be protected from the sun, particularly the most vulnerable:
☀️ Skin cancer is the No.1 killer of people with albinism in Africa
☀️ 100% of children with albinism will show signs of sun-related skin damage by the age of 10
☀️ About 50% of children with albinism will develop advanced skin cancer before the age of 30
☀️ Less than 2% will live to be 40 years old
Altruist and non-profit organization Stichting Albinisme in Afrika
Altruist works with important charity partners to deliver sunscreen to those most in need, in particular – The Albinism in Africa Foundation. SAA is a non-profit organization that operates entirely on the basis of cash donations and donations of sun protection products. We are very grateful to our partners and sponsors for their support and assistance. The Albinism in Africa Foundation has been committed to more than 4,500 people with albinism in Africa since 2004. Daily exposure to the sun causes many skin problems and skin cancer in people with albinism. The aim of the foundation is to improve the quality of life of these people.
The goal is achieved by sending bottles of sunscreen to contacts in various countries in Africa.
Altruist donates 10 cents of every bottle of sunscreen sold to our foundation. We receive large quantities of their products to transport to Africa.
A Vision for the future: Working together to see the world better – and to see a better future for all
Together with our charity partners, Altruist has been able to donate over 580K GBP (700K EUR) in products since the launch of the brand in 2015… and as we grow so do our donations
The communities and charities Pala Eyewear & Altruist supports
Pala’s primary charity partner is Vision Aid Overseas (VAO), which is on a mission to enable people living in poverty to access affordable glasses and eye care – regardless of gender, economic status or geographical location. The charity put’s a keen emphasis on the importance of education and community outreach to ensure every project’s long term sustainability – so we’re not there one day and gone tomorrow.
Pala has also worked with Albinism in Africa to provide 40 pairs of sunglasses to albino children, safeguarding their vision from an increased sensitivity to light due to a lack of melanin in the iris. Pala is hoping to extend their support of the Albino community in Africa going forward.
Altruist works with important charity partners to deliver sunscreen to those most in need, in particular, Stichting Albinisme in Afrika (SAA) – the Albinism in Africa Foundation. SAA is a non-profit organization that operates entirely on the basis of cash donations and donations of sun protection products.
The Albinism in Africa Foundation has been committed to more than 4,500 people with albinism in Africa since 2004 and the aim of the foundation is to improve the quality of life for albino people in Africa. They have achieved this by sending bottles of sunscreen to contacts in various countries in Africa.
Our visions for the future and how you can help more
We hope you’ll agree, Altruist and Pala are a pair of ethical brands with a shared vision to protect and support the most vulnerable; dedicated to giving back to those that need it the most. Now working together to see the world better; in a more altruistic way.
Go to our Instagram page @altruistsun or follow Pala Eyewear Sunglasses on Instagram and win 1 pair of sunglasses plus the full range of Altruist sun and skin products.