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SUSTAINABILITY MATERIALS THATMAKE EYEWEAR SUSTAINABLE I f one were to look at the bigger picture and list the type of materials used used while making eco friendly or sustainable products then the list would contain Bamboo, Precast Concrete Slabs, Cork, Straw Bales, Recycled Plastic, Reclaimed Wood, Reclaimed or Recycled Steel and Plant- based Polyurethane Rigid Foam. However all the materials above are not suitable for eyewear. Hence eyewear manufacturers are constantly looking for newer materials and ways to improve their designs, especially when it comes to being more environmentally friendly. The most common material used to make eco-friendly Here are a few materials that come to mind when on the topic of sustainable eyewear. VEGETAL RESIN Vegetal resin is durable, flexible, and light. It is made from castor oil, a greener alternative to standard plastic (acetate). Brands like Lacoste are using 40% of vegetal resin to produce their sunglasses. It’s indeed great news for someone looking at a greener option to choose an eyewear brand. M-49 BIO-ACETATE Renowned Italian acetate manufacturer Mazzucchelli’s M49 bio-acetate is a plasticizing solution of vegetable origin. It is a bio- In the previous article we spoke about the entire brouhaha about sustainability and its impact on the eyewear industry. In this issue, Pratik Bhatt, takes it one step further by sharing the different kinds of materials used to make eyewear sustainable sunglasses and eyeglasses is cellulose acetate. Cellulose acetate is derived from natural substances like cotton and wood pulp. It is lightweight and can be made in any colour or shape. SALT Optics from USA has partnered with Takirow Rowland from Japan to make its acetate eyewears from cotton & wood pulp. Apart from this I’ll list below a few more options. This list is by no means a comprehensive list. It’s just some of the materials that come to mind when talking about sustainable eyewear. There’s a lot of work underway that ensures that newer materials are created or re-discovered. 20 VISION PLUS SE ASIA EDITION