Susie in Shanghai

This week I had the privilege of talking to two of my friends here in China, Diana Tsai and Peter Nulsen, about a really inspiring campaign they are working on in Shanghai.  I find it absolutely amazing that 10 pairs of sunglasses sold (at only 300rmb per pair, approximately $46USD) can fund cataracts surgery for someone here in Shanghai who otherwise might never get the opportunity. Below is an interview detailing their amazing project as well as information about donating and getting involved. For more information, their website is cnblublocker.com and you can email them directly at cnblublocker@163.com.

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about your BluBlocker project here in China and how you and Peter first got involved?

Diana: Well a year and a half ago Peter and I were in Nanjing for winter break and visited a massage parlor. I ended up getting a massage from a blind masseuse and it ended up being a really meaningful experience because we had this intense conversation about social problems in China. We talked about the education system and the poor health of the elderly in the countryside. It was disconcerting but also made me see that I could make a difference in China if I came back and addressed some of these social problems. So Peter and I discussed how we could make a difference here—did we want to do non-profit work, private work, etc? So we thought about it over the next year and when I came back to China (while I was studying at ECNU) I went back to Nanjing to talk with the masseuse again. He suggested I should do work that involved cataracts because it is such a huge problem in China. I originally thought working with the Nanjing Blind School would be a good place to start, but when I came back to Shanghai and saw the Guang Fu Xi Lu community, I realized there was a greater need in this area. Nanjing Blind School received a lot of funding but this community had a unique need with many elderly people who had cataracts. Peter and I talked to hospitals and the community leaders and worked out a way to get surgeries to the people of Guang Fu Xi Lu.

BluBlocker comes into the picture because Peter and I thought it would be really cool if we sold sunglasses as a way to fund the cataract surgeries. We realized we couldn’t make our own sunglasses, but rather we needed to find a company that sold affordable glasses and that had a CEO that would be sympathetic to our cause. I had already worked with BluBlocker in the past for some charitable events, so we told the company our mission and business plan and got a really positive reply. After some calls and negotiations, the CEO of BluBlocker, Joe Sugarman, sent us our first shipment and is funding this summer project.

Q: What does a typical workweek entail?

Diana: The week is pretty hectic and we have a packed schedule. We usually work 10-12 hours a day. We typically wake up, plan the day on a white board. We will have a couple of meetings every week with executives who give us help and advice on managing our project. We cover everything—art and design, administrative work, recruiting sales teams, marketing, promotional campaigns, publicity, and media relations. It’s been really great to take on every role in a company. We learn something every day.

Q: Who else do you work with? Are you mainly on your own or reporting to someone daily?

Diana: The core team is Me, Donny (my cousin), and Peter. We have other people we speak to for help with translation, web design, and general advice, but we are mainly on our own. We report to Sugarman once a week and just keep doing our own thing.

Q: How successful have you guys been so far in selling the glasses and spreading the word about BluBlocker?

Peter: Well let me give you a three-month scope of where we are now and where we are headed. When we got here in June we knew we had three main things we needed to focus on: A) Launching a brand that is primarily famous in the United States, B) devising a whole new social impact mission that Diana and I really believed in and wanted at the core of our business, and C) looking to drive sales.

The overall goal is 2 months, 2000 sunglasses, 200 surgeries. So in the first month to month and a half, the main focus is building the brand, establishing the sales team, getting promotional materials together, completing the first ten cataracts surgeries, meeting all the patients, and bringing people together behind a video camera. We also wanted to build momentum on the blogosphere etc.

This first phase is almost done and at this point we’ve sold 20 pairs of sunglasses. The next month is really where sales get going because we will have a sales team of students from ECNU and CIE selling the glasses. We will also personally be selling the glasses and getting out on the street with our street team every weekend. We will be selling the glasses online as well. Basically in the current phase we’ve been spreading the word more than selling, but that will change.

Q: So will you be primarily selling them yourself or will you meet with companies and distributors here in China?

Diana: We won’t be working with distributors because we don’t have enough volume of glasses at this point.

Peter: Also in terms of our legal status we have the support of the American BluBlocker brand but we are technically defined on the Chinese eBay as a consumer-to-consumer web portal. This is a trial period to test our the Chinese market. We want to determine how interested the Chinese people are in the sunglasses and the underlying social mission of the project.

Q: Is there a similar project going on in the U.S./other countries or is this strictly a Chinese project?

Diana: Strictly China. In addition, BluBlockers are the first sunglasses being sold here that block 100% of blue UV light.

Q: When do the surgeries start? How did you pick who will be getting the surgeries?

Diana: We have already begun actually. Since June 24th we have had 9 surgeries. To pick who should get the surgeries we personally interview all patients who are referred by a hospital or other leaders in the community. It has been really successful so far. Our first patient was blind since the age of 4. She had some of her vision restored in a surgery during childhood but cataracts took the rest of her vision when she turned 50. There was very little hope that her vision could be restored, but our project gave her hope. Her eyesight is now 0.2, way better than mine!

Q: Does BluBlocker make a profit off of the sale of sunglasses here even though they are donating 100rmb/sale for the surgeries?

Diana: This summer they are not making a profit. BluBlocker is covering the entire cost of operation. In the future, as the project catches on, they will be making a profit off of sales.

Q: What will happen if you don’t meet your quota of 2000 sunglasses? Will you still somehow perform the 200 surgeries or will it depend on how your sales go?

Diana: Our ability to perform the surgeries is totally contingent on meeting our quota. We are trying our best to unify our mission, content, and values to really push forward on our campaign to sell sunglasses and complete the surgeries.

Q: Is there a way for people who are reading my blog to buy the glasses online? Ones specifically for the cataracts mission?

Diana: The ones sold in the U.S. don’t profit the cataracts mission. If people are interested in buying the sunglasses from China however, they will be helping with the campaign. Obviously we can’t ship one pair of sunglasses to the U.S. because of shipping costs, but if you got a group of 10 friends together who are interested, we could absolutely send a box with the glasses. We would include a card from the patient they are helping with the patient’s picture and some of our promotional materials. To do that, you can email us directly at cnblublocker@163.com.

Peter: We are also working on getting a donation button on our website at cnblublocker.com. You will be able to buy the glasses or simply make a donation via that button. If you’re an expat living in China then you can call us directly for delivery.

I’d also like to mention the technology of these sunglasses because it is really interesting. They were designed in the 80’s for the NASA space station and are still used today. BluBlocker sunglasses have Malenium® BluRay® lenses—the most advanced BluBlockers lenses ever. You can hit the lens with a hammer and it won’t shatter. The high definition, high resolution lenses block all of the blue light (depending on lens choice) as well as the sun’s ultraviolet A and B rays. When you block the blue light, objects seem to appear sharper and clearer because when you eliminate the blue, the remaining colors appear much sharper. BluBlocker lenses are scratch resistant and designed to last for many years providing the best protection, the clearest vision and styles that will stand the test of time. The unique aviator style which is much more affordable than other brands; you can get the BluBlocker sunglasses for 300rmb in China or $49 in the U.S.

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To read more about their mission see attached:

I. Our Mission

Every dollar you spend is a vote for the world you want to see: but how many of your purchases represent a vote well cast? At BluBlocker China we want you to be able to express who you are and strengthen your community. So we rewrote our business plan: one-third of BluBlocker China’s sunglass sales now fund cataract surgeries for low-income elderly Chinese, restoring vision to those who can no longer see the vibrant society they helped create.

Our price remains inexpensive, and our aviator style and astronaut-quality lens remains intact – but we have broadened our business purpose. After twenty years at the forefront of sunglass fashion in the United States, we now launch a revolutionary business model in China, fit for all Chinese individualists: from fashion trend-setters, social activists, and aspiring businessmen and women, to teachers and their ambitious students, government policymakers and pick-up basketball players – any and all with a strong identity and big heart. Your sunglasses now make a social impact; your dollars will go beyond style to help build a fashionable, socially-conscious Chinese community. You combine fashion with compassion.

A shift is taking place in 2011: widespread Internet access has led consumers to demand more transparency and higher quality products from businesses. But quality no longer means just the material composition of a product—it’s as much about the company’s mission, management, and core values as it is about the product appearance. Today’s consumers look deeper than eye-catching billboards or creative product packaging and demand that the new leaders of the business world are: Responsible. Passionate. Genuine.

More than ever before, consumers and businesses alike are finding creative ways to align their passions with their values. At BluBlocker, our passion is cool sunglasses, and our values are rooted in strong community. We’ve set a goal and together we will meet it:

2 Months. 200 Surgeries. 2000 Sunglasses.

Join the movement—Look Good and Do Good at the same time.

Diana Tsai, Director of Marketing and Operations, paediax@gmail.com

Peter Nulsen, Director of Strategy, pnuslen@gmail.com