Improving productivity and worker safety by providing eye tests and affordable glasses was the subject of an event drawing more than 50 corporate leaders, and representatives of international institutions, government, and industry groups. The Clear Vision Workplace Symposium focused on eyeglasses as a high-impact solution for worker well-being and productivity.
Led by VisionSpring, a social enterprise making eyeglasses accessible to more than 6 million persons globally, the symposium presented clear vision as an economic and social impact imperative. Of more than 18,000 workers in the Bangladesh ready-made garment industry who have received eyeglasses through the CVW program, 62 percent reported increased ease in threading needles, and 79 percent said they felt less frustration at work.
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Derrick Brown, in opening remarks, said he took pride that, “USAID joined VisionSpring and RMG sourcing brands to screen workers’ vision and distribute affordable reading and prescription eyeglasses to workers and management.” He cited the activity as an example of “how the private sector can do well by doing good.”
The event’s chief guest Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Chair, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Honorary President, Inter-Parliamentary Union (Geneva) has noted “VisionSpring’s Clear Vision Workplace program and this stakeholder symposium is an opportunity to extend an invitation to vision correction in workplaces and strategic industries across Bangladesh.”
“At a minimum, one quarter of the world’s garment workers need eyeglasses,” said VisionSpring CEO Ella Gudwin. “Imagine threading needles, finding fabric defects, operating a handloom, or picking tea leaves with blurry vision. The great news is that this 700-year old invention solves blurry vision, while boosting employee well-being and productivity globally.”
VisionSpring, through its Clear Vision Workplace program, with support from USAID and leading global brands, brings vision screening teams and eyeglasses to workers in factories and agricultural estates. Since the introduction of the program in Bangladesh in 2018, 66,000 workers in 16 factories have received vision screening, and 27 percent were found to need eyeglasses. Of these, 70 percent were women factory workers.
VisionSpring has secured commitments to screen the vision of 250,000 workers by 2022, including new programs announced at the symposium. Clear Vision Workplace partners imagine a thriving garment sector in which all workers who need eyeglasses have them, to sustain their livelihoods and continue to care for their families, and employers benefit from the retention of skilled employees.
Partners in the Clear Vision Workplace call the program an effective, efficient and evidence-based intervention, shown to improve worker well-being, while also achieving business objectives for brand partners. One such partner, Swapan Paul, Manager - Sustainability, Bangladesh, Pakistan & Sub-Saharan Africa for Levi Strauss & Co., said,
“We are proud to support VisionSpring’s efforts to improve the vision of women and men in the Levi Strauss & Co. supply chain. Through the Clear Vision Workplace program, our factories have witnessed improvements in worker health and well-being and boosts in productivity.”
The VisionSpring program increases eyeglasses coverage rates for workers in industries that require clear vision for tasks done within arm’s length, such as the garment and tea sectors. Besides Bangladesh, the program covers India and Vietnam, where 35 percent and 40 percent of workers screened, respectively, have required eyeglasses.
Providing workers with eyeglasses for clear vision supports four of the United National Sustainable Development Goals: SDG1) No Poverty, due to workers’ increased income potential; SDG 3) Global Health and Well-being due to fewer accidents and driver safety; SDG 5) Gender Equality based on garment sector preponderance of women workers; and SDG 8) Decent Work and Economic Growth stemming from workers’ higher productivity rates.
