L’Occitane Malaysia celebrates World Sight Day 2020 (8 October) with a series of efforts, one being a design competition held in collaboration with UCSI University’s Institute of Creative Arts and Design (ICAD). The competition for students of the Institute was for the best design for a charity merchandise that will fund eye screening and free spectacles to deserving communities in the country. The winning prize was RM1,000.
Elida Wong, L’Occitane Malaysia Brand GM, said, “The Caring For Sight Charity Kit is L’Occitane Malaysia’s annual efforts towards raising funds for eye care projects. This year, we wanted students to gain industry experience by participating in a design project that will help the visually impaired receive eye care. We are very proud and impressed with all the submissions from the students.”
Student Kenny Ling Ee Tak bested his competitors and took home the prize. His design of two hands touching a pair of eyes will appear on a limited edition charity pouch, which will be available at Malaysian L’Occitane stores from 1 October 2020 onwards while stocks last.
A part of L’Occitane’s championing of the Caring For Sight cause, its stores will also carry the Caring For Sight charity kit so everyone can take part in the blindness prevention effort. The kit contains L’Occitane’s popular body care items from the Almond Collection, namely Almond Shower Oil (35ml), Almond Shampoo (35ml), and Almond Milk Concentrate (30ml). These items come in the aforementioned pouch featuring Kenny’s design.
The kit retails at RM80 and will be available from 1 October to 31 December 2020 at L’Occitane’s Malaysian outlets, as well as on my.loccitane.com. Proceeds from the sale will be channeled into blindness prevention projects such as eye screening, free spectacles and the like for the needy.
L’Occitane Malaysia has been involved in such projects for several years now, regularly collaborating with NGOs for the sake of ocular wellness. In March this year, it hosted more than 30 celebrities at Dialogue in the Dark to experience normal daily routines including shopping for groceries, crossing the road, and ordering food, all in the absence of the sense of sight. The brand also raised funds for Malaysian Foundation for the Blind through an auction of St. Nicholas Home baskets made by the visually impaired and L’Occitane products.
The brand is also continuing its annual charity run, Race For Vision, albeit on a virtual platform this year. Participants downloaded the Race For Vision app and contributed their ‘healthy steps’ to achieve the global goal 300,000km. At the end of the race, the L’Occitane Foundation will unlock €300,000 euros (about RM1.2 mil) to be pumped into eye care projects worldwide. Such is the brand’s passion for vision awareness that since 1997 it has been engraving the name of the products in braille on most of its packaging.