How Can Eyewear Be Green?

If someone told you that you could go the eco-friendly route when it came to your eyewear, you might be tempted to push your glasses down to the bridge of your nose and roll your eyes just a bit. Seemingly, everything is “going green”, even some of the things that don’t seem to make the most sense—like eyeglasses (and sunglasses).

But the truth of the matter is that you really can have eye wear that is green. It’s simply a matter of knowing what to shop for and how. If you’re curious, here’s some additional information on how to do just that.

What Is an Eco-Friendly Item?

Whenever you hear the phrase “eco-friendly”, while it might be a popular one, you might wonder what it really means. Basically, if an item is eco-friendly, it simply means that it was made in a way that does little, if any, harm to the environment. This doesn’t just include how the product was made, but also the items that were used (chemically and otherwise) to manufacture it. So, if you see some eyewear that is marketed as being eco-friendly, this means that you can trust that it was made in a way that kept the welfare of the environment in mind. LinkSkin.com, Eco-Optics.com and EcouTerre.com (put “eyewear” in the search engine) are all companies that make fashionable eyewear without harming Mother Nature.

What Are You Looking for with Eco-Friendly Eyewear?

If you are a more discerning shopper and you’d like to know how you can tell if a pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses are eco-friendly other than the way they are advertised, look closely at the materials that were used to make them. Eco-friendly eyewear will include one or more of the following: recycled plastics or metals, reclaimed or salvaged wood, sustainable bamboo or plant-based plastics. So, whether you’re shopping online or at an eyewear store, feel free to ask the customer service agent if the item that is catching your attention were made from any or all of these materials.

What About Eco-Friendly Contact Lenses?

Did you know that there are actual contact lenses that are marketed as being eco-friendly as well? Now when it comes to these, it tends to be more about the packaging than anything else. And while it does take a bit more research to locate these kinds of products, it’s well worth it. Although 1 Day Acuvue Moist and Bausch + Lomb’s PureVision Toric brands receive rave reviews for their quality and stability, a company that receives high praise for its eco-friendly packaging is the Hydrogel Vision Corporation. They have a Clarity H20 brand that comes in a 12-pack package that is made from recyclable materials. However, what you put on your eyes is very different than what you put in them, so in your quest to be “green”, do you make sure that you discuss with your optometrist the kind of eco-friendly lenses that would be best for you.

Now that you can see more clearly what it means to have eco-friendly eyewear, hopefully this will inspire you not to just purchase a new pair of eyeglasses or shades, but to go a step further; to actually buy some eyewear that is fashion-forward on a higher level—some that has the environment within its view!