Phillippe Rochette is a man on a mission. He wants eye-wear and glasses to be affordable to all,…read moreregardless of income bracket. When he noticed that the poor and lower income families who quite often need vision correction but can't afford glasses, go without, he decided to change all that by providing dirt-cheap eye exams and eye glasses for no more than $70.
He can keep costs so low because he buys frames in bulk from a Chinese manufacturer - the same manufacturer that makes high-end labels like Gucci and Ralph Lauren. For people on welfare, social assistance, the elderly on limited incomes and children, eye exams are free and glasses are no more than $20 and for every purchase made, $10 goes straight to any number of charities listed on his website. You can also get insurance receipts.
His motto is "Honesty. Simplicity. Solidarity". He thinks most optometrists in the city are ripping off consumers and selling glasses at inflated prices. I heard about Philippe Rochette on a CBC radio documentary and when I recently needed new glasses, I remembered this story and decided to try this out. I got my eye exam done somewhere else and armed with my prescription, went to one of the 45 weekly local eye clinics Bonhomme A Lunettes conducts at charities and community centers around the City of Montreal, Lanaudiere, Monteregie and the Eastern Townships (I went to the one in Verdun, my neighborhood). Because it's a traveling clinic, you won't get a wall of frames to choose from but rather, suitcases come out and you're shown various models and honestly, they were no different from what you would see at any other high-end eyeglass wear shops in town. I gave them my prescription and my glasses were ready the next week. I saved $200 on new eye-glasses plus they come with a one year guarantee.
Seriously, this is a great economic model the political left could use and falls in line with anarchist principles while also creating social capital. That's way cool in my book.
