SUSTAINABLE EYEWEAR sustainable eyeglasses eco eyewear
If anyone who works in optics is completely honest, they would admit that it is not an eco-friendly industry. There is a lot of waste. There are a lot of chemicals and water used. There is a lot of energy used. It is taking optics as a whole a long time to combat this, but at EDGE we are committed to being on the forefront of sustainable eyewear. We are always on the lookout for ways to be more eco-friendly and sustainable, and we are attacking on multiple fronts.
Frames
Bird Eyewear - Founded by three brothers in Devon, Bird frames are built for positive impact and champion the restoration of nature. Because there's a problem in the eyewear industry, where hundreds of millions of frames are going to waste each year. Most of them built from cheap plastic with little thought given to lifespan, durability, repair-ability and whether they could be recycled. Like many industries, the giant corporations have created a problem. So Bird Eyewear thought, they’d create a solution from nature - for nature.
They’re pioneering alternative approaches to materials and brand impact, from innovating bio-acetates, and frames made from castor beans to using recycled materials, sustainable woods and left over materials. Every pair of Birds a masterpiece, fully repairable, recyclable, low-carbon and fit for purpose, all while championing and protecting our natural world.
They recently developed their own closed-loop manufacturing in the UK using waste plastics from Devon, and they're the only eyewear brand in the EU to openly share their entire supply chain with customers for full transparency. As the highest scoring B Corp in the eyewear industry verified to meet the highest standards of social and environmental impact, Bird Eyewear believe that nature is not only their cause, but also the solution.
Bird Eyewear: Rethink, Reduce, Remake.
Pala Eyewear - Not only do Pala make beautiful eco-friendly eyewear they also give back to eye-care programmes across Africa. This is achieved through Pala providing grants directly to vision centres, dispensaries and screening and training programmes through our charity partner Vision Action. Pala frames boast:
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Plastic-Free Packaging
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Carbon-Neutral Shipping
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Handcrafted in Italy
ECO - EDGE Eyewear is pleased to offer a range of frames from ECO. This multiple award-winning range has to be seen to be believed. Beautiful colours, amazing shapes, and every frame we stock comes complete with a sunglass clip-on. They are made eco-friendly and sustainable materials. Even the packaging is eco-friendly.
For each frame sold they plant a tree. That's 3.6 million trees so far.
iGreen Eyewear - iGreen's amazing frames are made with eco conscious acetates, manufactured from cotton. With a revolutionary process, so that every frame is made using 50% less water and 50% less electricity. Not only that but they are fully customizable:
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All frames weigh 5g
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Over 90 shapes
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500 colours
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Many size options
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All frames can be matt or shiny
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All frames can are available with or without nose pads
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Laser cut name engraving - to truly customize them as your own
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Interchangeable arms to change your look as you wish
If you can imagine a pair of glasses, iGreen can probably make it. All frames are sent with the remainder of their acetate sheet (see picture 6 below), so that you can be 100% confident that your frame of choice has been made just for you! It is possible for this remainder of the acetate sheet to be recycled, if you wish to do so.
iGreen Frame
iGreen Personalised Frame
iGreen Frame
iGreen Frame
Lenses
Nikon - Our number one lens supplier. We love their lenses, but because here at EDGE we want to be as sustainable as we can we also love Nikon's philosophies on how to look after the planet. They are committed to the protection of our environment and its people. As a result of the significant sustainability efforts across their manufacturing and services, the environmental impact of their spectacle lenses continues to be reviewed and reduced.
Here are a few of the things they do already:
Shamir - Just like EDGE, Shamir (one of our main lens suppliers) strongly believes in being as green as possible, and their very latest technology clearly reflects this priority.
The Metaform™ lens production process employs minimal water, chemical and energy consumption, leaving the smallest possible ecological footprint. This ensures minimal
impact on the environment.
As a bonus these truly ground-breaking lenses are also lighter, stronger, and thinner than traditional lenses.
RECYCLING
Contact Lens Packaging
They say you can’t recycle contact lenses, but we say yes you can! In partnership with ACUVUE® and global recycling specialist TerraCycle® we are runnning a Contact Lens Recycle Programme.
Collect any brand of soft, disposable contact lenses, contact lens blister packaging and outer foils at home. Bring them into us and we will arrange for them to be recycled for no charge.
Glasses Frames
We will collect your old and unwanted glasses and, working with Recycline, send them away to be recycled. Recycline's operation is funded entirely by the sale of the recovered materials, allowing them to also donate a proportion of profits to charities to help with local and international causes. Of course, this will be done free of charge.
You can recycle: spectacles, sunglasses, safety glasses, safety goggles, and swimming goggles.
