Workers’ eye-care initiative expands to Cambodia with help from Deckers
Footwear group Deckers is working with a specialist aid organisations to help workers at partner manufacturing companies in Cambodia maintain better visual health.
Two organisation focused on eye health, VisionSpring and Eye Care Foundation, are partnering with Deckers to check the vision and eye health of factory workers in the Asian country.
They will conduct screenings for 4,600 factory workers over 18 days this spring, including workers who make footwear for Deckers brands UGG, Teva and Koolaburra. The screenings will take place at two factories, one in Kampong Cham and the other in Phnom Penh.
This initiative is part of VisionSpring’s Clear Vision Workplaces programme, which partners with businesses and manufacturers to provide vision care to factory workers. The programme, which also looks after workers in Bangladesh, India and Vietnam, has demonstrated the impact of accessible eye care in the workplace.
Since its inception, the programme has screened the vision of more than 670,000 workers and dispensed eyeglasses to 258,000 of them.
On announcing its support of the programme’s expansion into Cambodia for the first time, Deckers said an estimated 40% of the factory workers screened there will require glasses, which means approximately 2,000 people of the 4,600 screened receive glasses as part of the initiative.
Chief executive of VisionSpring, Ella Gudwin, said looking after workers’ eyesight would become increasingly important as Cambodia strengthens its global position in the apparel and footwear industry. “We are proud to support its growth,” she said.
Deckers’ vice-president for sustainability and compliance, Brooke Beshai, said: “By investing in vision care, we’re investing in the quality of life of the people who make our products. We hope this programme inspires others to prioritise vision care as a key part of a healthy and empowered workforce.”
