Well Lit

The fight for light has come with great costs.

Lighting up a space hasn’t always been as simple as
flicking on a light. 4,000 years ago, in the tropics,
people would catch fireflies and make a
sort-of make-shift firefly lantern.
And, in Scotland, folks would hunt and kill a
super oily bird called the Storm Petrel, dry it out
and then shove a wick down its throat, which
functioned as a feathery, slow-burning lantern.
Then came the unfortunate discovery of whale blubber as a fuel source, giving way to the whaling industry,
which in turn killed off nearly 3 million of those great beasts that occupy our planet’s oceans.


Then, there was Kerosene.

And, finally, there was electricity.

At 3 p.m. on September 4th, 1882, Thomas Edison flicked on a switch at J.P. Morgan (the bank funding his electric endeavours) and,
for the first time in human history an entire office building and a full square mile of Lower Manhattan was illuminated with light.

Light has since spread (and so has the cost).

While the discovery of electricity and the
invention of the lightbulb has saved the
innocent lives of countless whales (and Storm
Petrels), lighting up this big beautiful planet
doesn’t come without a cost.


Most lightbulb makers manufacture in Asia
and then ship to Europe and other parts of the
planet. More times than not, the bulbs aren’t of
sufficient quality, containing an undetected
flaw, which causes them to fail quickly.


In other words, there are a whole lot of bad
bulbs getting shipped around the world.
And, unfortunately...

Bad bulbs ship twice, which
costs double the CO2 emissions.

The bulbs that are shipped around the
world are so bad that it’s not uncommon
for folks to buy 20% more LED bulbs than
they need, due to the failure rate.


Well-lit commits to quality because
it is best for the environment and the
customers who partner with us.

For us, this begins and ends with our workers.

We use a local workforce at our factory so our people can
be a part of their kids’ lives (this isn’t the case for most
workers in China).


All of our LED bulbs are handmade which allows our workers
to command a higher salary and learn skills they can take
with them elsewhere if they so choose.


(Not to mention, while hand making LED bulbs is far
more expensive for us, it results in the lowest
failure rate in our industry.)


Every single one of our workers enjoy a free
daily lunch, work in an environment that is both
safe and clean and enjoy ample time off each week.

Happy workers = Better Bulbs = Less CO2

All of the above means a happier workforce that can
be passionate about the work that they do and who
are personally invested in the products Well-lit is
making and the customers we’re serving.


We’re a company of Lightmen on a mission to be a guiding
light in an industry that badly needs one.
With this, we’ve created something that
can best be described as a manifesto.

The lightmen’s manifesto

A pledge, a challenge and an evergreen reminder
to ourselves and the rest of the world that light
is both a privilege and a responsibility that should
be wielded and respected with the utmost care.

Darkness feels at the speed of light

We don’t just light up a room because it looks good,
we light up a room because it makes room for good.

Light is a resource worth saving.

Turn off, power down and unplug when you step out of a room,
because it’s kind to the planet and those that call the planet home.

Light (modern light)
is good for the whales.

Before the lightbulb,
whale oil was the fuel
that lit our world, a
tragedy that cost 3 million
innocent whales their
lives (thank you, Edison).

There’s no light like sunlight.

Natural light boosts Vitamin D,
improves sleep and shoos
away seasonal depression.
Man-made light is good,
but remember to enjoy the sun.

Light can change the world.

Light keeps neighborhoods safe,
it brings people together and
it allows our passions to burn
long after the sun goes down.
Make the most of this gift!

LIGHT IS NOT A UNIVERSAL LUXURY.

If you’re reading this, you’re not one of the 1.3 billion
humans who lack access to ight and electricity. Never
take this luxury for granted.

Leave the world a little bit brighter.

Every moment of every hour of every day,
seek to leave the world and the people living in it
just a little bit brighter.