The Story Of ReflectAwear®
Unlike many products on the market today that are devised and created by research and development divisions of large corporations, ReflectAwear® is the brainchild of a man whose own story led him to produce these remarkable safety devices.
You see, William Edwards is a dog lover and has been since he was a kid growing up in Brooklyn. One summer morning in 1997, Will was walking his Dog “Lady” around his neighborhood park letting her run free ahead of him. As dogs do, Lady pranced about, unaware that there was a park-worker cutting grass on a riding mower around the corner. Lady reached the corner at the same time as the park worker, but was so startled that she ran out into the crosswalk. Sadly, Lady was hit and killed by a driver who didn’t even stop to see what happened. Losing Lady this way was a wake-up notice about the danger traffic presented to pets and people.
When he got his new dog, “PUP”, and began walking him, William noticed a pattern. Motorists slowed down whenever he was in a crosswalk, but speed up right after, completely ignoring Pup on his leash trailing behind him. Whenever it happened, Will would yell out to the driver, “Slow down, can’t you see me and my dog!”
But he soon realized that drivers could not actually see his dog even if they saw him, because they could see his illuminated figure, but not Pup’s. To a motorist, the dog just blended into the background leaving him very vulnerable.
Not wanting to lose Pup as he had Lady, William began to look for items at the local pet store that would help make him more visible at night so cars would see him before they got to the cross walk. No matter how hard he looked (1997) he could not find anything reflective for pets in any pet store.
They say necessity is the mother of invention, and determined to protect his pet and others, William – a NYC Licensed Construction Contractor for Dept. of Housing Preservation and Development – devised a line of reflective products that when worn, would make pets visible to drivers from a considerable distance. William recognized there was an unmet need for pet safety so in 1998 he founded ReflectAwear® Pet Care Products and in 2001 was awarded a US Utility Patent on his “illuminated pet safety system”.
Having 30 hours of OSHA training Using his background as a Construction Contractor William was able to expand his High Visibility Brand – ReflectAwear® Inc. – to include Construction Safety Gear. Will got got certified as a safety sales professional and continues to expand his brand – ReflectAwear® Inc.
In 2011 William opened his first retail ReflectAwear® store at 531 Sutter Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11207.
For more information contact ReflectAwear® Inc. at
Ph:(718)622-7387 or Email: reflectawear@reflectawear.com.