To meet the growing demand for protective equipment due to the pandemic, Luxottica has repurposed part of Oakley’s facilities in Foothill Ranch, California to produce face shields. The first 140,000 devices will be delivered to US hospital staff involved in the fight against the virus. This donation is intended to have a concrete impact on the local communities in which the Group operates.

These face shields are made of a mixture of polycarbonate, acetate, PET or APET and are compatible with N95 respirator masks and protective glasses. They are also designed to provide protection against infectious “droplets” that may come in contact with those working on the front lines.

In Italy, Oakley has arranged another significant donation. Safety of our people has always been a priority at Luxottica. Because of this, about 10,000 pairs of the Oakley Industrial M-Frame 3.0, a model used by members of the Armed Forces, are currently being handed out to staff working in logistics and production departments in the Italian factories. These special glasses, which are classified as certified safety devices, can also withstand lens fogging, splinters and all external threats which – especially in this period – can put people at risk.  The employee kit also includes an anti-fog liquid-spray which, once applied to the lenses, makes it even easier and safer to use the glasses in combination with the protective masks, to which we are now very family with, both in the workplace and beyond.

In order to meet the new needs in the field of protection, Oakley has also taken initiatives such as launching the Shield Your Eyes collection, for which the brand has selected a mix between some of its most iconic eyewear and models certified as Personal Protective Equipment. On this occasion, for the first time, Luxottica customers also had access to the ESS brand, designed for military and industrial use with products capable of exceeding the strictest US testing standards in the military sector. Solidarity is combined with creativity in the new Kokoro collection, named after a Japanese term meaning “heart; mind; spirit”. The collection, created in collaboration with Japanese-born artist Meguru Yamaguchi, aims to inspire and unite athletes at all levels with a love of sport. To celebrate the launch of the new collection and the meaning behind it, Oakley has donated $200,000 to the Solidarity Response Fund, created by the World Health Organization to combat the COVID-19 emergency.