EnChroma and 1-800-FLOWERS.COM® Team to Bring More Color to Color Blind People on this Valentine's

BERKELEY, Calif., Feb. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- EnChroma – the company bringing color to the color blind – and 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLWS), the leading floral and gourmet gift provider for all occasions – today announced a collaboration to make Valentine's more colorful for the color blind. For the one in 12 men (8%), and one in 200 women (.5%) with color blindness, the colors of traditional Valentine's Day gifts may not have the same impact. For the color blind, the red of a fresh rose typically looks dull and brownish. The purple in Lilacs are indistinguishable from the blue of a hydrangea. Shades of pink appear as muted tones of gray and colors like orange and yellow blend together.

1-800-Flowers.com® and EnChroma have teamed up to help the color blind see and enjoy more of the vibrant romantic colors of Valentine's. EnChroma glasses enable red-green color blind people to see colors more like people with standard color vision. From February 2 through February 15, customers can type "1800Flowers" when ordering at www.EnChroma.com to get $50 off of EnChroma glasses. Visitors to www.1800FLOWERS.COM can type 'EnChroma' to receive 20% off their purchase.

"The coloration of flowers co-evolved biologically with the visual systems of birds and insects. The vibrancy of a flower gives it chromatic contrast in the environment, which helps it to be seen against a background of foliage and other natural textures with muted colors such as brown, gray and dark green. But, for the estimated 300 million color blind people in the world, the wonderful colors of Valentine's and flowers may not convey as much excitement and meaning," said Andrew Schmeder, CEO of EnChroma. "An expanded experience of color can be emotional for the color blind; to do so for the first time with a loved one on Valentine's could be even more moving. We're thrilled to work with 1-800-FLOWERS.COM to help people give the gift of color – and colorful flowers – to a color blind loved one."

"It's hard to fathom that a gift as beautiful, romantic and colorful as our flowers cannot be fully appreciated by so many people because they're color blind," said Jim McCann, Founder & CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. "That's why we are delighted to work with EnChroma to make it easier for color blind people to get their glasses and enjoy all the vibrant colors in our bouquets this Valentine's."

MEDIA EVENT

To kick off the Valentine's campaign, EnChroma and 1-800-FLOWERS.COM invite media to attend a special event in Los Angeles in which five people will present their color blind loved ones with a free pair of EnChroma glasses. With the glasses, they will be able to see all the colors in a bouquet of flowers from 1-800-FLOWERS.COM for the first time. The event will take place at 3:00 p.m. PST, Tuesday, February 2, at the 1-800-Flowers/Conroys® store located at 374 S. La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles. The media can call 530.908.9225 to R.S.V.P. or for details.

How the Glasses Work

EnChroma emerged from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) SBIR study on the feasibility of correcting color vision deficiency, and over ten years of R&D. EnChroma's glasses contain a special optical filtering technology that selectively removes the wavelengths of light where the red and green cone cell response overlaps the most for the red-green color blind. The result is the glasses re-establish the correct balance between signals from the three photo-pigments in the eye (red, green and blue). Once the correct ratios entering the eye are re-established, the correct color can be perceived and the red-green color blind can see colors more like people with standard color vision.

EnChroma's glasses are not a cure for color blindness: they boost and improve color vision, but they do not treat the condition nor provide the ability to overcome all occupational limitations. EnChroma's glasses are effective for about four out of five color blind people. To test your color vision visit EnChroma.com/test. Over 22,000 color blind people around the world benefit from EnChroma's eyewear.

About EnChroma

EnChroma is dedicated to positively impacting the lives of the estimated 300 million people worldwide with color vision deficiency. EnChroma has developed a robust line of innovative eyewear products with cutting-edge optical technology for men, women and children. The company is led by a team of researchers, engineers and technology experts, backed by an advisory board of world-renowned vision scientists. Based in Berkeley, California, EnChroma emerged from a National Institutes of Health SBIR grant designed to study the feasibility of correcting color vision deficiency. To reach us please call 510-497-0048, email [email protected] or visit enchroma.com.

About 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. is a leading provider of gourmet food and floral gifts for all occasions. For nearly 40 years, 1-800-FLOWERS® (1-800-356-9377 or www.1800flowers.com) has been helping deliver smiles for our customers with gifts for every occasion, including fresh flowers and the finest selection of plants, gift baskets, gourmet foods, confections, candles, balloons and plush stuffed animals. As always, our 100% Smile Guarantee® backs every gift. Most notably, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. was recognized as one of Internet Retailers Top 300 B2B e-commerce companies. In addition, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM was recently named in Internet Retailer's 2016 Top Mobile 500 as one of the world's leading mobile commerce sites. The company was included in Internet Retailer's 2015 Top 500 for fast growing e-commerce companies. In 2015, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM  was named a winner of the "Best Companies to Work for in New York State" award by The New York Society for Human Resource Management (NYS-SHRM).  1-800-FLOWERS.COM was awarded the 2014 Silver Stevie Award, recognizing the organization's outstanding Customer Service and commitment to our 100% Smile Guarantee®. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM received a Gold Award for Best User Experience on a Mobile Optimized Site for the 2013 Horizon Interactive Awards. The Company's BloomNet® international floral wire service (www.mybloomnet.net) provides a broad range of quality products and value-added services designed to help professional florists grow their businesses profitably. The 1-800-FLOWERS.COM "Gift Shop" also includes gourmet gifts such as premium, gift-quality fruits and other gourmet items from Harry & David® (1-877-322-1200 or www.harryanddavid.com), popcorn and specialty treats from The Popcorn Factory® (1-800-541-2676 or www.thepopcornfactory.com); cookies and baked gifts from Cheryl's® (1-800-443-8124 or www.cheryls.com); premium chocolates and confections from Fannie May® (www.fanniemay.com and www.harrylondon.com); gift baskets and towers from 1-800- Baskets.com®  (www.1800baskets.com); premium English muffins and other breakfast treats from Wolferman's® (1-800-999-1910 or www.wolfermans.com); carved fresh fruit arrangements from FruitBouquets.com (www.fruitbouquets.com); and top quality steaks and chops from Stock Yards® (www.stockyards.com). Shares in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, ticker symbol: FLWS.

NASDAQ:FLWS

SOURCE EnChroma

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