Karino AyakoWhat comes to your mind when you hear “ethical fashion”? Eco-friendly organic cotton clothes? Shirts made from recycled materials or bags handcrafted by locals? Don’t be surprised, but we have ethical fashion coming as far as upcycled eyeglasses!
A new brand under the name PLAGLA—which combines “PLA” from “plastic” and “GLA” from “glasses”—has created eyeglasses made from used plastic PET bottles collected in Japan. Two 500 ml PET bottles are used to make one eyeglass frame.
A factory in Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture, a region that boasts a 90% share of eyeglass production in Japan, produces these recycled frames. According to the manufacturer, nearly 30,000 prototypes were made to get the best results. They carried out multiple trials and errors to give the glasses the elasticity required. They also had to clear deterioration tests against ultraviolet rays, rains and winds, which are crucial when wearing them outdoors.
Meanwhile, the lens is made of biomaterial too. The “BD8 BIO LENS” it uses comes from a biodegradable biopolymer. It biodegrades into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass by microorganisms found in the soil and sea. Biodegradation begins roughly ten days after placed in earth or sea and will completely decompose in five years, allowing it to become a natural fertilizer for plants.
And that’s not all! The eyeglass case which holds the eyeglass is made from recycled paper, and the cleaning cloth is made from recycled material. This eyewear is ethical from top to bottom!
PLAGLA started its service by crowdfunding in February 2021. Since May 19th, they have been out in the market, available for sale. Although reading glasses and blue light shielding glasses are the only options available right now, the brand says it plans to sell color lenses and sunglasses in the future too.
Approximately 800 tons of plastic waste is discarded in the sea every year. PLAGLA’s creators couldn’t bear to watch the ocean get polluted with plastic every year. Part of the sales of the eyeglasses will go to “Umi-no-Hane Donation,” a foundation that focuses on cleaning up the ocean.
Just think of it. Don’t you think it’s cool to have recycled plastic waste right beside your eyes, helping you to see better? The eyeglasses are sure to make you view the world in a completely different way.
