Ombraz
| Private | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Sunglasses |
| Founded 📆 | 2018 |
| Founders 👔 | Jensen Brehm, Nikolai Paloni |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | Bellevue, Washington, U.S. |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | Ombraz.com |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Ombraz is an American sunglasses company that develops, markets, and sells armless sunglasses with a heavy focus on their net-benefit, carbon negative impact through regenerative tree planting.[1] The name Ombraz is derived from the Italian word 'Ombra' signifying shade. Pronounced Ohm-Bruhz, the company was cofounded by Jensen Brehm and Nikolai Paloni in Spring 2018 and is based in Bellevue, Washington.[2][3] Ombraz predominantly sells on their website or with retailers REI, Huckberry, and other small outdoor shops.[4] Ombraz has factories in Germany, Japan, and China, and their armless sunglasses are sold across all continents.[5]
History
In 2012, Ombraz cofounder Jensen Brehm was on a 5-day camel expedition in the Thar Desert of western India when someone sat on his sunglasses, snapping both sidearms. He took a piece of twine and attached it to both sides of the broken hinges and around the back of his head to be able to continue to use his sunglasses in the heavy sun. The twine was replaced with a leather cord and Jensen returned to college where he continued to wear his self-made armless glasses for the next 5 years.[6]
In late 2016, upon realizing there was an actual inherent need for armless sunglasses in a saturated sunglasses market, Jensen teamed up with Nikolai, a buyer at Amazon with an understanding of e-commerce to bring the concept to market.[7]
On March 23, 2018, after 2.5 years of sourcing materials and solidifying prototypes, Ombraz launched on Indiegogo for crowdfunding.[8] In 30 days, the company raised $165,000 from over 1,400 backers across all 7 continents, 54 countries, and all 50 US states.[5] The cofounders began production of 3,000 pairs of sunglasses at their barn office headquarters in Bellevue.
In 2019, their patent on their unique design concept (No. 10,514,556) was granted and the two began looking for improvements to the design and supply chain.[9]
In May 2020, Ombraz upgraded their first-edition armless sunglasses to the V2 design and released two more frame styles, continuing to expand.[10]
Armless Sunglasses
Ombraz are pioneers in the armless sunglasses industry. This category of sunglasses commonly have the following characteristics. By utilizing a cord instead of arms, the sunglasses stay securely in place, even during high-output, motion-oriented activity.[7][11] The cord also eliminates the discomfort of pressure points typically applied by the arms.[3][12] The common failure points in sunglasses are the arms and hinges. Through the use of a flat design, there are no such weak points in the sunglasses, making armless sunglasses more durable than normal sunglasses.[13]
Environmental Initiatives
Shade Project
Ombraz plants 20 mangrove trees for each pair of sunglasses sold with the help of their partners at Eden Reforestation Projects, in turn providing employment to impoverished areas in Madagascar and shade for the deforested coastlines.[14] As certified by One Percent for the Planet and Climate Neutral, each pair of sunglasses sequesters 1383X more carbon than is emitted to produce and deliver them.[15][16] The founders also have trees planted to offset carbon-emissions for any Ombraz related travel, as of August 2021, 400,000 mangrove trees and counting have been planted by the company.[2]
Packaging and Back-End Shipping Materials
Ombraz packaging is compostable and plastic-free, adding no waste to the environment.[17]
All back-end shipping materials and returns are strategically reused to refrain from throwing anything away.
Sunglasses lines
Ombraz' most popular sunglasses are the Classic Tortoise Grey, Classic Charcoal Grey, and Dolomite Charcoal Grey. In 2018, Ombraz released the first-edition Classics, aviator style sunglasses, for presale as their initial and sole product at the time. After two years of production, Ombraz released their second-edition Classics in May 2020, alongside the circular-framed Dolomites, and the square-lensed Leggero models.[18]
Materials
Carl Zeiss Lenses
Ombraz uses 2mm-thick Carl Zeiss polyamide optics from Germany, coated for scratch and smudge resistance. The lenses offer 100% UVA and UVB protection, and are hydrophobic and oleophobic.[19]
Frames
Ombraz frames are created out of TR-90, a thermoplastic nylon that is commonly used in the aerospace industry.[20]
Gallery
References
- ↑ "True shade: Ombraz raises $100K for its unique sunglasses — and commits to tree-planting efforts". GeekWire. 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "About Us". Ombraz Armless Sunglasses. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Ombraz Armless Sunglasses Review". Halfway Anywhere. 2019-05-09. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ REI. "Ombraz Armless Classics Regular Sunglasses | REI Co-op". www.rei.com. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "How Ombraz Reduces Barriers to Purchase for International Customers With ShipBob [Case Study]". ShipBob. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ "Ombraz Sunglasses: "Armless" and highly functional - Alpinist.com". www.alpinist.com. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Haka, Eric (2018-03-19). "Monday Product Review: Ombraz Sunglasses". spmag. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ "Ombraz Sunglasses: Making Sidearms Obsolete". Garage Grown Gear. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ "US Patent for Armless eyewear with adjustable cords Patent (Patent # 10,514,556 issued December 24, 2019) - Justia Patents Search". patents.justia.com. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
- ↑ July 13, Suzanne Hermann | Darby Communications |; 2020 (2020-07-13). "Ombraz Introduces Fresh New Styles To Its Lineup Of Armless Sunglasses | SGB Media Online". sgbonline.com. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ Co, Lens & Frame. "Ombraz Rx Sunglasses". Lens & Frame Co. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ "The Best Sunglasses of 2021". Outside Online. 2021-05-10. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
- ↑ Heyden, Dylan. "These Shades Are Virtually Indestructible and Every Pair Equals 20 Trees Planted". The Inertia. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ "Our Approach". Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ "Ombraz | A Climate Neutral Certified Brand". Climate Neutral. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ "Limited Edition Colours from Ombraz". BIKEPACKING.com. 2021-06-04. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ Barber, Jeff (2021-05-15). "The Ombraz Leggero Sunglasses Have No Arms [Review]". Singletracks Mountain Bike News. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ July 13, Suzanne Hermann | Darby Communications |; 2020 (2020-07-13). "Ombraz Introduces Fresh New Styles To Its Lineup Of Armless Sunglasses | SGB Media Online". sgbonline.com. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
- ↑ "Ombraz Armless Sunglasses". Sporteyes.com. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ↑ xdubhe (2019-06-21). "What is The Difference Between Acetate and TR90 Frames?". Dolabany Eyewear. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
External Links
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