Dining in the Dark - New York News | NYC Breaking News

Dining in the Dark

There is more help for people coping with vision loss. A new company is trying to make those everyday tasks, a little easier and they're also trying to educate others about just how challenging it can be to live in a world without sight.

John Arabano, who attended Wednesday's event said: "It was terrifying. It really made me appreciate my eye sight. Honestly."

It was a rare opportunity for people to experience first-hand the challenges the visually impaired face every day.

"To be guided by somebody that you don't know and to be over stimulated in all your other senses can be a little overwhelming but it was a really good feeling to be open to the experience," said Emily Hyams, who also attended the launch.

It's called Dining in the Dark, a special event held to raise awareness and launch a new line of products created specifically for the blind.

"What we try to do without products because beauty is such a marketable type industry, we wanted to use this marketing to actually raise awareness for the blind and visually impaired by incorporating Braille," said Isaac Shapiro, the Founder of Cleanlogic. It is the first bath and body brand in the United States to put Braille on its products. They offer everything from soaps to body lotions, giving millions of blind people the ability to read labels.

"Braille has been around for centuries. When we take a look at Braille today.  Even though people look at Braille as obsolete in a lot of ways because technology," said Shapiro. "Braille is still a language."

Shapiro said the inspiration for the company came from his mother, who is blind.

"When I look back and I see people when we went into public places and people would stare at my mom I really felt like this is something when I go back I need to go back and say it was that people didn't know about blindness so I can't look at them and say why are you looking at my mother in a different way?" said Shapiro. "This is my way of actually saying hey its ok to stare at my mom because you don't know now it's my job to create awareness and make you feel comfortable as a sighted person."

Cleanlogic products can be purchased at Duane Reade and Shop Rite. A portion of the proceeds from any Cleanlogic product purchase benefits the Inspiration Foundation, nonprofit organization that produces technology, job training and job placement for the blind.

http://www.cleanlogicbodycare.com/