in local communities a living wage to collect the
debris, Schoenike says.
So far, Norton Point's sunglasses collection is
made up of three styles. Each is made with CR-39
polarized lenses that provide full UVA and UVB
protection. The company plans to introduce
more styles in the future.
Along with producing shades, Norton Point has
also launched an awareness campaign called
Sea Plastic Differently, which aims to educate
people about plastic debris in the ocean as well
as businesses about the value of ocean
plastic products.
Norton Point also donates five per cent of its net
profits to organizations like Ocean Conservancy
to support global clean-up and remediation
practices related to ocean plastic.
“We hope that this product can really make a
difference in the way we all view plastic and that
it will help generate awareness of the larger
issue,” Schoenike says.
Here are three other companies that are
transforming waste into fashionable eyewear:
KARUN
In an effort to reduce plastic waste in the oceans, the South
American-based Karün Eyewear has produced a line of
sunglasses made entirely of recycled fishing nets that were
abandoned in the Pacific.
To do this, the company teamed up with Bureo, a Chilean
company that makes skateboards out of old fishing nets
and runs a fishnet collection and recycling program called
Net Positivia.
“At Karün we want to prove that it is possible to change the
way we interact with our planet. We are using sunglasses
as a tool to inspire change and to prove that we can and we
need to live in a world in harmony with the natural
environment,” says Macarena Goles of Karün.
Abandoned fishing nets make up about 10 per cent of the
plastic pollution in the ocean, the company says. They pose
a serious risk to marine life, which can become entangled
in the nets.
Through Net Positivia, the nets are collected and turned
into pellets. They are then shipped by Karün to Italy where
they are made into sunglasses for the company's Ocean
Collection.
The collection was launched in 2015 after Karün conducted
an online crowdfunding campaign.
Karün sells the shades online and shipping to Canada is
available. So far about 2,000 pair of sunglasses from the
Ocean Collection have been shipped around the world.
For more information, visit www.karunworld.com.
Optical Prism | October 2016 19