WESTPORT, Conn. - Eyeglasses.com, an online one-stop shop for eyeglasses, prescription lenses, and sunglasses, is counting on two unique and seemingly opposite American markets - the fashion obsessed and the technically and mathematically inclined -- to help end cataract-induced blindness in India.

Pi Wear™ (yes, named for 3.14159) is a new charitable brand of round, full-rim eyeglasses and sunglasses that was designed to transform the conscious eyewear industry. The brand rethinks the one-for-one business model. For every one pair of Pi Wear eyeglasses or sunglasses purchased, Eyeglasses.com pays for one eye surgery in rural India that cures blindness caused by cataracts, opening doors to education and work opportunities for the poor. Sold at a fraction of the cost of comparable designs, Pi Wear is such a powerful brand that its customers cause the blind to see.

Pi Wear round eyeglasses and sunglasses were developed with innovators in mind. The style represents a long history of being worn by some of the greatest independent thinkers and creators of the last 100 years, from Steve Jobs to Ghandi to John Lennon. Pi Wear didn't create the current round eyeglasses trend that is favored by two unique and mutually exclusive groups - those obsessed with image and fashion: artists and celebrities - and those more scientifically minded and image-dismissive: techies and academics. But, the brand is wise to leverage both groups for a greater cause.

"I created the Pi Wear charitable brand to leverage business as a force for good and really make a difference in society," says Mark Agnew, founder of Eyeglasses.com. "I wanted to go further than simply donating eyeglasses to the poor, who often don't have access to a doctor. For every pair of Pi Wear eyeglasses sold, we donate funds to Sankara Eye Foundation to completely pay for one free eye surgery."

India has the largest population with sight loss worldwide. Fortunately, 80 percent of the eight million who are blind and more than 55 million who are visually impaired can be cured with proper treatment. With restored vision comes greater access to education and employment opportunities and furthers participation in society.

Sankara Eye Foundation, USA, founded in San Jose, Calif., and Sankara Eye Foundation, India, based in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, work to eradicate blindness in India by providing free high quality eye care to the rural poor. They fund and perform approximately 160,000 free eye surgeries conducted in nine hospitals throughout the country per year. Going beyond procedures, they provide free transportation, food and housing for patients, eliminating the barriers to seek treatment. For the last 564 days, Eyeglasses.com has maintained its commitment to donate vision to one blind person every day. The company has contributed more than $15,000 to the cause thus far and aims to increase its daily donation in the future.

"Our current economic system is skewed toward the wealthy," says Agnew, a former Wall Street trader and financial analyst. "While Pi is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant - the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter - π in Pi Wear represents the cyclical work that we, as responsible citizens, need to invest into meaningful change. The work is constant but ensures our continued collective success."

Agnew knows firsthand what it's like to live with severe vision loss. At 28 years old, he was mugged and suffered injuries leading to complete vision loss in his right eye. After working nearly two decades in the financial industry, he longed for a more meaningful life. In 2000, Agnew founded Eyeglasses.com to make purchasing eyeglasses an easier and less costly process. Eyeglasses.com offers more than 300 premium brands at greatly reduced prices. Through the launch of Pi Wear, the now 58-year-old husband and father is on a mission to help others who cannot see their own futures.

Pi Wear charitable eyeglasses and sunglasses come one-size-fits-all. Stainless steel frames with two layers of wear-resistant coating are 43 millimeters in diameter. The sunglass lenses are made from super-durable polycarbonate and come in three colors of mirror coating. They provide 100 percent UVA and UVB protection, and feature anti-reflective coating to block unwanted glare. The bridge is composed of durable monel alloy, which is used to build aircraft bodies. Eyeglass frames are available in six colors. Sunglass frames are available in 10 color variations. Semi-hard cloth cases come in the collection's signature Pi purple. Shipping is free.

Unique to the brand, Eyeglasses.com pioneered the Virtual Try On system for eyewear in 2000, enabling customers to model products by uploading their own photos through an application on the website. Eyeglasses.com also sells lenses for up to 50 percent less than average retail stores and offers customers instructions for how to fit and adjust frames to their faces themselves, making purchasing eyewear easier than ever.

To learn more about the Pi Wear charitable brand and its impact or to purchase Pi Wear™ eyeglasses or sunglasses, visit: https://www.eyeglasses.com/piwear.

CONTACT: Allison Epstein | 617-269-7171 | allison@teakmedia.com