The arrival of summer is always a great time to go to the beach (for a swim or to clean it, which is always very necessary), or to go for a walk or to
The arrival of summer is always a great time to go to the beach (for a swim or to clean it, which is always very necessary), or to go for a walk or to the mountains. But remember, put on your sunglasses and you will avoid the damage of ultraviolet rays on your eyes. Even though this year the coronavirus restrictions won’t allow us to do many of the things we want to do, we’ll still go outside and enjoy life
You know that from El Bien Social we promote all kinds of sustainable projects, and we did not want to miss the opportunity of bringing this complement so important for our days of sunshine. That’s why today we bring you the best sustainable and ecological sunglasses brands, made of wood or other sustainable materials. Also, we’ve been checking the social impact of some of these projects, and they are super cool 🙂
Here we go!
Parafina
From Madrid, the first Spanish BCorp dedicated to the manufacture of glasses made from 100% recycled materials, such as PET, cork, bamboo, aluminum cans, etc. «see beyond the trash» is their slogan, and it is because they recover the material from uncontrolled dumps, and give it a second life thanks to the manufacture of the glasses. Their other big impact is that they allocate 5% of the sales of each pair of glasses to the schooling of girls and boys in Paraguay. They are without a doubt our reference project and of which we are also ambassadors, which is a great source of pride.
If you or someone close to you needs glasses because you don’t have or haven’t been able to repair the ones that have broken, you can use the promotional code «elbiensocial15» on their website to get a 15% discount.
Go to Parafina’s website
Sea2see
8 billion tons of plastic are thrown into the sea every year, and of this, it is estimated that 10% are fishing nets that have been abandoned. In addition, their non-biodegradability makes them one of the main destroyers of marine life, as they are often ingested by animals or become trapped. That is why Sea2see has joined forces with several fishing associations on the coast of Catalonia and Ghana to remove all these nets from the shore, and shell them to turn them into the raw material that the glasses they sell are made of.
Another great example of how we can create a project by solving an environmental problem.
Go to Sea2see website
Blue Planet Eyewear
Originating from the United States, this brand has been making sunglasses and reading glasses since 2009 using recycled or sustainable materials. Their goal is twofold. On the one hand, building a business that focuses on reducing the impact of waste on the environment. On the other hand, to help those who have vision problems, thanks to its program «Visualize Change».
Go to Blue Planet Eyewear website
Warby Parker
Their motto is clear, very clear: «offering the best design in eyewear at a revolutionary price, leading the way in socially conscious business«. Being students at the university, they had to spend some time saving up to buy glasses, and that was because a few big companies were taking over the market and setting the prices high. They also realized that there were a billion people who did not have access to glasses in order to work or study. 15% of the world’s population. They wanted to solve this problem by making the glasses themselves, and so for every pair they make, they give another pair for free to people who need them.
Go to Warby Parker website
Nolands
Another reference brand again from Barcelona (it certainly seems that Barcelona is the birthplace of sunglasses). They use a bio cellulose acetate (polymer derived from cellulose) for their processing, which is produced entirely from renewable materials such as cotton seed fibres and wood fibres. In addition, all the glasses are designed in the Catalan town, and manufactured by hand in Italy.
Go to Nolands Eyewear website
Grown eyewear
Since 2010, these surfers from Byron Bay in Australia have been making sunglasses that do good. And for two reasons. The first is because since its founding Grown Vision has been dedicated to financing treatments around the world for those with vision problems, which can usually be solved with simple surgery. In addition, they use bamboo or wood from sustainably managed forests in their materials to make the glasses.
Go to Grown Eyewear website
Beland
Since 2017, this brand led by three Catalan musicians has been making sustainable sunglasses made of wood, as a result of its commitment to sustainability. In addition, to raise awareness of the problems of plastic, they have chosen to create another line of glasses with 100% natural acetate from cotton fiber and recycled wood.
Go to Beland’s website
Ozeano
Sunglasses that are good for the planet, society and your pocket. Another motto with a great intention behind it is that of these Australians, concerned about two big problems: marine plastic and people without the ability to afford treatment to correct their vision problems. With each pair of glasses (made from recycled plastic), 12 kilos of waste is cleaned from beaches in need, and 10% of the sale is given to foundations to finance treatment for people with vision problems.
As a curious fact, the brand name comes directly from the Basque for «ocean»
Go to Ozeano’s website
Samoa Sunglasses
Polarized sunglasses made of 100% natural wood and handmade. This is the proposal brought to us by the Alicante brand Samoa Sunglasses, which also manufactures backpacks with 100% natural cotton
Go to the Samoa Sunglasses website
Dick Moby
Here we bring you the most cool project of this list, and we loved it. These entrepreneurs from the city of Amsterdam had a very bad experience on a surfing trip in 2012, where they sailed in the middle of plastic waves. So they decided to do something. Super cool sunglasses where all materials come from biodegradable sources (decomposes in 115 days if composted), such as bio-acetate, and recycled materials, such as glass or metal. I leave you the video below
Go to Dick Moby’s website
Swell Vision
Eyeglasses made of bamboo that help educate the leaders of the future? It’s possible with Swell Vision, the sustainable sunglass brand founded by Mithcell Saum, which reinvests its profits in funding the Green Forest School in Bali, one of the largest rural schools educating the leaders of the future in Indonesia.
Go to Swell Vision website
Do you know or have a project for sustainable or recycled sunglasses? Don’t hesitate to send us your project through our contact page, or leave a comment below
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