Oscar Wylee has “utterly” rejected allegations made by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which claims the eyewear company made misleading statements about its charitable donations and affiliations.
According to a statement, the ACCC “has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Oscar Wylee Pty Ltd (Oscar Wylee) for alleged misleading or deceptive conduct and making false or misleading representations about its charitable donations and affiliations in breach of the Australian Consumer Law”.
We utterly reject the allegations made by the ACCC, which do not reflect the range and scale of the community and charitable contributions made by Oscar Wylee
Established in 2012 by John Teoh and Michael Lim, today Oscar Wylee is owned by Mr Teoh and his brother Jack and operates an online store as well as 52 physical stores.
The ACCC claims that between at least January 2014 and December 2018, Oscar Wylee made representations on its website, social media, in emails and in its stores that included:
- ‘Buy a pair, give a pair’;
- ‘For every pair purchased, a pair is donated to someone in need’;
- ‘Buying a pair today? As soon as you do, we’ll donate a pair to someone in need’; and
- ‘We have partnered with Rose Charities which helps build sustainable eye care programs in Cambodia’.
The ACCC alleges that in fact Oscar Wylee only donated around 3,000 pairs of glasses in the relevant period, despite selling over 320,000 pairs of glasses in that time.
Additionally, it claims that Oscar Wylee made representations until at least December 2018 that it had ‘partnered’ with Rose Charities to help build sustainable eye care programs in Cambodia, and fund a particular individual’s study to become an eye surgeon.
However, the ACCC alleges that between at least January 2014 and December 2018, Oscar Wylee’s entire association with Rose Charities was limited to a single $2000 donation, and 100 frames donated in early 2014.
It is alleged no further donations or support were provided to Rose Charities after February 2014, despite the partnership claims continuing to be made for almost five years.
“These alleged false or misleading claims presented Oscar Wylee as engaged in significant charitable activity, and exploited consumers’ desire to support charitable causes. Instead, we allege Oscar Wylee donated less than 1 per cent of the glasses it said it would,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.
“We are concerned that consumers may have chosen Oscar Wylee over other eyewear companies because they believed their purchase would result in Oscar Wylee providing glasses to people in need and supporting a sustainable eye care program in Cambodia.
Allegations Rejected
Allegations RejectedIn a statement, Oscar Wylee rejected the allegations and said it “will vigorously defend the legal action launched by the ACCC.
“We utterly reject the allegations made by the ACCC, which do not reflect the range and scale of the community and charitable contributions made by Oscar Wylee.
“Since its founding in 2012, Oscar Wylee has proudly undertaken a range of programs in line with an ongoing commitment to corporate social responsibility.
“Oscar Wylee has to date donated more than 350,000 pairs of glasses to charity organisations including Sight for All. Monetary donations in that period total $130,865.
“We take our corporate and social responsibility seriously and have always acted with good intentions.”
The ACCC is seeking declarations, penalties, injunctions, corrective publication orders and an order to implement a compliance program.
Ms Rickard said, “Businesses must ensure that if they make claims about their charitable donations, affiliations or partnerships, they are true and can be substantiated,”
Sunglass Recall
It’s been a challenging few months for Oscar Wylee. In November the company was forced to recall sunglasses that did not comply with mandatory labelling identifying the lens category and amount of UV radiation protection provided by glasses sold nationally from July 2017 to June 2019.
Established in 2012 by John Teoh and Michael Lim, today Oscar Wylee is owned by Mr Teoh and his brother Jack and operates an online store as well as 52 physical stores.
The ACCC claims that between at least January 2014 and December 2018, Oscar Wylee made representations on its website, social media, in emails and in its stores that included:
- ‘Buy a pair, give a pair’;
- ‘For every pair purchased, a pair is donated to someone in need’;
- ‘Buying a pair today? As soon as you do, we’ll donate a pair to someone in need’; and
- ‘We have partnered with Rose Charities which helps build sustainable eye care programs in Cambodia’.
The ACCC alleges that in fact Oscar Wylee only donated around 3,000 pairs of glasses in the relevant period, despite selling over 320,000 pairs of glasses in that time.
Additionally, it claims that Oscar Wylee made representations until at least December 2018 that it had ‘partnered’ with Rose Charities to help build sustainable eye care programs in Cambodia, and fund a particular individual’s study to become an eye surgeon.
However, the ACCC alleges that between at least January 2014 and December 2018, Oscar Wylee’s entire association with Rose Charities was limited to a single $2000 donation, and 100 frames donated in early 2014.
It is alleged no further donations or support were provided to Rose Charities after February 2014, despite the partnership claims continuing to be made for almost five years.
“These alleged false or misleading claims presented Oscar Wylee as engaged in significant charitable activity, and exploited consumers’ desire to support charitable causes. Instead, we allege Oscar Wylee donated less than 1 per cent of the glasses it said it would,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.
“We are concerned that consumers may have chosen Oscar Wylee over other eyewear companies because they believed their purchase would result in Oscar Wylee providing glasses to people in need and supporting a sustainable eye care program in Cambodia.
Allegations Rejected
In a statement, Oscar Wylee rejected the allegations and said it “will vigorously defend the legal action launched by the ACCC.
“We utterly reject the allegations made by the ACCC, which do not reflect the range and scale of the community and charitable contributions made by Oscar Wylee.
“Since its founding in 2012, Oscar Wylee has proudly undertaken a range of programs in line with an ongoing commitment to corporate social responsibility.
“Oscar Wylee has to date donated more than 350,000 pairs of glasses to charity organisations including Sight for All. Monetary donations in that period total $130,865.
“We take our corporate and social responsibility seriously and have always acted with good intentions.”
The ACCC is seeking declarations, penalties, injunctions, corrective publication orders and an order to implement a compliance program.
Ms Rickard said, “Businesses must ensure that if they make claims about their charitable donations, affiliations or partnerships, they are true and can be substantiated,”
Sunglass Recall
It’s been a challenging few months for Oscar Wylee. In November the company was forced to recall sunglasses that did not comply with mandatory labelling identifying the lens category and amount of UV radiation protection provided by glasses sold nationally from July 2017 to June 2019.
