Giving Goggles
Dear reader, I hope you are keeping healthy during these strange and unsettling times. It has been a while since I last posted on Medium. We have been working on a project at Ace & Tate that I feel strongly about though, so I wanted to provide some context.
Considering all that’s been written about the subject, I don’t believe I need to dwell on the fact that COVID-19 is making life hard for all of us. Humans and businesses are impacted in ways we haven’t experienced for generations. To put it bluntly: this is fucking terrible.
Times like these also, thankfully, prove that we’re willing to put individual ambitions aside for the greater good. People are helping each other in creative and often heartwarming ways, and communities are pulling together to get through this. The obvious question for me personally and for Ace & Tate as a company, therefore, was how we could contribute in a positive way.
The answer was simple. There is a profound shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical workers and volunteers who are risking their health and safety to care for the sick. One of the key elements in short supply are safety goggles — protecting the eyes from contact with the virus. This needs to be solved.
Luckily, one of our key suppliers has a direct partnership with a manufacturer of medical-grade safety goggles who also share the same standards we have for quality and working conditions. We decided to get involved and for starters, placed an order for 5,000 pieces. This first batch will be delivered shortly to regional Red Cross entities and governmental bodies, in order to get them to frontline medical workers and volunteers in Europe as quickly and efficiently as possible.
But why stop there? Ace & Tate will donate an additional pair for every eyewear order placed on aceandtate.com or in our physical stores. That’s the least we can do as a brand. But, we hope to donate more with the help of… basically anyone who can miss €3. We invite you (and your family, friends, neighbours, casual acquaintances — you catch my drift) to donate through our website — with or without a purchase of our products.
Since launching on 16 April, we have raised the equivalent of 10,680 safety goggles (see live stats here) — an amazing achievement and something that the Ace & Tate team is incredibly proud of. However, this is not nearly enough to solve the issue. So, we need your help: please head over to the donations page and give what you can. We will keep you updated here and on other (social) platforms as the safety goggles are manufactured and distributed to those who need them most.
Before I sign off, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank:
- Our key supplier for working with us to manufacture the goggles, Flexport for donating the shipping costs of the first batch,
- Notary Holdinga Matthijssen Kraak B.V. for helping us figure out and keep an eye on the legal side of this initiative,
- Ace & Tate shareholders and other business partners for your generous donations. You know who you are.
- And of course, everyone out there who has donated to date! A huge thank you.
Now, let’s donate some goggles!
Take care,
Mark de Lange
Founder, Ace & Tate
