New acquisition: TheOneDollar Glasses
Author:
Theresa Gatarski
min
Reading Time
The glasses are timeless: clear, simple, purist. They consist of a lightweight but extremely sturdy spring steel frame and ground lenses made of shatterproof plastic. Thanks to a simple click system, the lenses can be inserted into the frame in the appropriate strength with a single movement.
The material costs for a pair of glasses are around one US dollar, hence their name: One Dollar Glasses. To make the glasses affordable for everyone, the retail price is two to three days’ wages, adjusted to the respective country.
They are manufactured on a simple bending machine. This does not require electricity and can therefore also be used in structurally weak regions without any problems. The spectacle bending machine is thus the smallest spectacle factory in the world and allows for individual design customisation.
In addition to the personal design freedom for one’s own spectacles – be it with beads, coloured details or variations in the shape of lenses and arms – new spectacle models are also constantly being developed.
New to the collection
Thanks to a donation from EinDollarBrille e.V., four pairs of glasses and a glasses bending machine that was used worldwide have been added to Die Neue Sammlung, complementing the museum’s collection of almost 70 eyewear items in the area of social and inclusive design.
The EinDollarBrille concept has received multiple national and international awards for its technical precision, innovation and efficiency. Behind the design is a global organisation with a mission to provide ‘good vision for all people’.
How it all began
Martin Aufmuth, the inventor of the OneDollarGlasses and founder of the OneDollarGlasses association, experimented with various materials in his basement in 2012 until the first prototypes of the spring steel glasses and the necessary bending device were ready.
What began on a very small scale in the basement of a terraced house in Erlangen has now helped more than half a million people to a better life. The motivation behind it is to offer a solution to the global problem of untreated visual impairment.
According to a 2019 WHO study, 950 million people need glasses but cannot afford them or do not have access to them. Children cannot follow lessons, adults cannot take up skilled work.
EinDollarBrille – from Germany to the whole world
The non-profit organisation EinDollarBrille e.V. is now a global organisation that has been working for over 10 years to improve the lives of children and adults in Asia, Africa and South America.
At the international level, the individual country organisations work together under the umbrella of GoodVision International. The aim is to establish permanent basic eye care for people worldwide.
In order to reach even the most remote villages, the country teams travel in specially equipped trucks. A new digital strategy helps to track the foundation’s geographical activities and trace the data of the people who have been provided with glasses. This means, for example, that modifications can be made quickly or replacements provided.
Social design
Several criteria were decisive for Die Neue Sammlung in adding the glasses to its museum collection. The minimalist design of the glasses, which has a purpose, is aesthetically appealing and at the same time enables a customised design with just a few interchangeable attributes.
The production process is simple, well thought-out and based on the simplest of means. This means that the glasses can be produced optimally by anyone with basic training, anywhere in the world.
The social aspect of the product also plays an important role. GoodVision International provides basic eye care to many people and also invests consistently in promoting local expertise through education, training of specialists, development of structures and creation of jobs.
In this way, the organisation supports people in securing their livelihoods and promotes their future opportunities. This also creates new jobs with prospects in regions with underdeveloped labour markets. The support also specifically includes the inclusion of disadvantaged groups.
The EinDollarBrille project combines good design with technical innovation and social commitment in an exemplary manner. By adding these glasses to its collection, Die Neue Sammlung is not only expanding its eyewear collection, but also the museum’s holdings as a whole in terms of social, inclusive and sustainable design.
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