Sustainable design

The last months have seen some particular highlights in the drive towards sustainable activity across the independent segment of the eyewear industry. Actions range from a much higher transparency about individual company commitments to genuine sustainable goals as well as ongoing innovation in recycling and re-purposing waste and discarded products to make beautiful high-quality frames…the examples below are among the most notable developments we have identified in recent weeks….

RECYCLED MATERIALS: GREATER TRANSPARENCY ABOUT EYEWEAR MATERIALS IN USE

Mykita draws attention to the importance of recycling which is key to the circular economy, helping to protect natural resources. Setting a standard for sharing details about the specific materials in its collections, most recently, the company has published the details about the metal materials it is currently using. Over 90% of purchased frame materials at MYKITA are recycled:

“Our metal frames are made from stainless steel consisting of 90% recycled content. We now also return our leftover stainless steel as raw material to our supplier’s recycling plant in Sweden – a closed loop operation.” Image above: courtesy of Mykita

Already in 2022, for their acetate collections, Mykita fully switched to using recycled acetate in a partnership with Eastman, the producers of Eastman Acetate Renew, a bio-based material made from certified sustainable wood pulp that uses recycled waste plastics in place of fossil based resources. www.mykita.com

DEMO LENSES: A MOVE TO RECYCLED + RECYCLABLE MATERIALS

In Autumn 2022, the French company Morel introduced recycled and recyclable demo lenses in 100% of their frames. The demonstration lenses, built with recycled acrylic, make up a virtuous circle as they are infinitely recyclable, the Morel team say.

At Morel, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) actions are separated into three main themes: product commitment, environmental commitment, and social responsibility. To be open and transparent about these activities and how they will evolve for the future, the company has published a manifesto which details their projects and progress in these areas, available from their website at www.morel-france.com

DEVELOPING CIRCULAR OPERATIONS TO REMOVE WASTE FROM THE SEA + CREATE “SEASTAINABLE” PRODUCTS

The B CORP Certified and Carbon Negative company Sea2see has created its own Foundation in Africa to enable an ongoing collection of rubbish from the coast by the local communities. Those involved are paid for the work, and the collection to clean up the marine environment is centered around 20 fishing communities in Ghana, involving around 500 people with a collection success of 25,000 kg (on average) of waste collected each month. Sea2see is now driving this model in other regions including Senegal, since 2020. Some of the waste is turned into a certified raw material called UPSEA™ PLAST which has obtained Cradle to Cradle Gold Certification. The material is suitable to make robust, strong eyewear which is comfortable to wear and bright and colourful – manufactured to high quality standards in Italy – as well as a stylish collection of watches which Sea2see produces at one of the leading watch makers in Switzerland. Find out more about Sea2see activities at www.sea2see.org

PIONEERING DEVELOPMENT IN RECYCLING / REPURPOSING EYEWEAR / CREATING UNIQUE COLOURS AND PATTERNS IN NEW “REGRIND” DESIGNS – PROCESS REQUIRES UP TO 35% LESS Co2 THAN VIRGIN ACETATE

REGRIND represents a step forward in recycling old disused eyewear and creating a raw material from the old frames, which is then used in a new circular production. The success of the REGRIND process continues to grow – with the creation of aesthetically colourful and stylish varieties (the material is patented ISCC and certified bio-circular – produced in Sweden), that have a wide choice of marbled, flecked, smokey, stone-inspired and Havana-like colorations. The materials are now available to all eyewear designers.

The couple behind the REGRIND innovation – Emilia and Erik Lindmark – who are the co-founders also of EOE Eyewear showed their most recent REGRIND frame designs at OPTI in January in a limited edition that is striking and bold, both in colour and finish. To find out more about REGRIND visit our interview with the creators about the creation of the new material: https://www.eyestylist.com/2022/06/regrind-an-innovative-approach-to-circular-design/ www.regrind.se

Eyestylist is interested to hear from all independent optical/frame companies who wish to talk about their latest steps in becoming more sustainable. Please contact us at [email protected] – this feature was written by EYESTYLIST.COM – all rights reserved.

The brand has released its first THEOREM report, which explores its progress thus far in being more conscious, transparent and sustainable as well as addressing its plans for the future

The avantgarde eyewear label, VAVA, created by Pedro da Silva, has released a sustainability report, which sets out its pathway as a fashion brand towards “a more conscious, transparent and sustainable fashion industry”. Through the report, the VAVA team expresses its fears, hopes and commitments, stating that they wish to demarcate the line between an industry that speaks and an industry that acts.

The VAVA THEOREM is the result of a deep commitment to sustainability, change and genuine progress. “One of the purposes is to convey vital information in a clear and organised fashion, so that the reader can understand the development and concepts behind the evolution of VAVA’s sustainability project, explains Pedro da Silva. “Our Theorem is not merely reportage but also represents our effort to bring greater transparency to our endeavours in terms of the environmental, societal and political challenges that all of us face, globally.”

Among the areas considered in the report on 2021 are Environmental Protection, Economic Prosperity and Social Responsibility. It also outlines VAVA’s consultancy programme with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) a commitment which is allowing the brand to build a 360º sustainability strategy with clear goals and deadlines. VAVA has also revealed that it also recently joined the internationally renowned organisation, The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD).

To read the full sustainability report, visit https://theorem.vavaeyewear.com

The team behind the Tyrol-based natural eyewear brand Rolf Spectacles has developed a new textured surface structure for their 3D printed plant-based glasses

Rolf Spectacles is driving forward with further innovation and design “firsts” in 3D printed sustainable eyewear. Their latest addition to the 3D printed plant-based frames is a new surface structure called ‘Substance Honey’. It replicates a honeycomb pattern across the surface of the designs. The natural beauty of the pattern was selected to “pay homage to the bees”. It acts as a reminder of the values behind the ‘Substance’ bean-based collection, a multi-award winner for its green and sustainable design innovation. Above: Bernhard and Roland Wolf at Silmo 2022 in Paris, on the presentation of the new eyewear collections and ‘Substance’ Honey collection – Photography by Amanda Sellem exclusively for Eyestylist.com 

The new surface adds a discreet aesthetic look to the frame which is minimal, refined and completely different from other 3D printed frame designs. The collection also features smooth 3D printed frames and styles with a texture of “shattered earth”. The model Rigi in the Substance Mount collection features this effect.  (https://www.rolf-spectacles.com/optical/substance-mount/rigi/).

The colour palette Colours in the collection for the new season range from natural stone, rock and nature inspired tones of grey, grey-blue, mocha and green as well as a few brighter colours which include a bright sapphire blue. All Substance frames are made from beans which originate from fast growing castor trees. The frame hinges, referred to as the ‘Flexlock hinge system’ are 3D printed at the same time and location as the frames themselves, further reducing impact on the planet. Find out more about Rolf Spectacles sustainable eyewear at www.rolf-spectacles.com

Yair Neuman is creating frames from recycled lenses

London-based product designer Yair Neuman has created a line of frames in DELEREX™ – a material made from waste lenses he collects from opticians and glazing labs. “I always wanted to use the material to make frames, he told Eyestylist. “After a period of creating other design objects from the material I was able to adapt it to frame-making and the results are very pleasing. I now make dedicated DELEREX™ slabs for frame cutting and process them using a combination of traditional and non-traditional manufacturing methods. All my frames are made by hand in London.”

First launched as a mini collection produced in collaboration with Cubitts in London last winter (2020)., Neuman set about designing and developing more styles and tweaked the production processes on the way. Now the frames are stocked by leading boutiques including Gogosha in Los Angeles. According to the designer, Julia Gogosha understood the aim of the project immediately.

Sustainability is one of the core principles of Neuman’s work in general. “Working with recycled waste rather than using virgin material is pretty obvious to me,” he explained. “I am not going to compete with acetate on practical terms – the other values of DELEREX™ are more important in this project, even if the optician needs to work a little harder to adjust it. My target here was to create something beautiful in its own right. DELEREX™ has the most magnificent depth and sheen, it is something between mother of pearl and marble.”

Neuman studied design in The Netherlands (Design Academy) and in London (Ravensbourne) and first became involved in eyewear design at Ron Arad’s pq Eyewear. He has since worked in Zimbabwe where he started a social project combining local craft with 3D printed parts to produce frames with zero waste. He then founded Wires Glasses producing innovative hingeless folding metal frames. In 2019, the first project featuring DELEREX™ was launched with Cubitts. “We have been occasionally collaborating on design, production and my DELEREX™ range ever since,” he adds. For more products created by Yair Neuman visit https://www.eyestylist.com/2021/02/recycled-plano-lenses-for-design-lens-light-heads/ This feature was written by Clodagh Norton at Eyestylist.com – all rights reserved.