Safilo Group has asserted its commitment to sustainability and bringing more recycled materials to the eyewear industry with the introduction of Eastman Tenite Renew in its sunglass and prescription collections. In doing so, the Italian eyewear company claims to have become the first player in the market to use all Eastman Renew materials for eyewear in its portfolio, across all types of applications and production processes.
Tenite Renew is part of a broad range of sustainable materials now offered at scale by Eastman, a global specialty materials provider and pioneer in molecular recycling technologies. Produced via Eastman’s innovative carbon renewal technology, using hard to recycle plastic waste in the place of fossil fuel, Tenite Renew is composed of minimum 42% bio-based content and minimum 20% recycled content.* The resulting material offers the same premium feel and outstanding comfort of acetate combined with adjustability needed to fit personalised eyewear.
Tenite Renew will be introduced in January 2023 in Safilo’s licensed brand Levi’s collections, then progressively rolled out across the Group’s broad brand portfolio, both for sun and prescription frames.
“Our intention is to expand the use of sustainable materials as much as possible in order to progress in our sustainability journey,” said Vladimiro Baldin, Chief Licensed Brand and Global Product Officier of Safilo Group. “By being the first player in the eyewear industry using all Eastman Renew materials for this application – Acetate Renew, Tritan Renew and Tenite Renew – Safilo can provide our customer with a variety of differentiated options that meet their high standards for both design and sustainability.
“We are committed to leading the way in our approach to our products reducing the use of new resources and without compromising the aesthetic and performance of our frames and lenses, thereby continuing to offer the same level of impeccable quality.”
The collaboration is part of Safilo’s purpose-led strategy based on three sustainability pillars: planet, product, and people. Sustainability is at the core of its business strategies and is based on developing projects and initiatives that can contribute to addressing the global challenges of tomorrow.
“We are gratified to strengthen and extend our sustainability partnership with Safilo through the adoption of Tenite Renew,” said Glenn Goldman, Commercial Director, Eastman Specialty Plastics. “It’s rewarding to see our materials used to make eyewear more sustainable, and we look forward to continuing to work with Safilo to bring sustainable materials and solutions to additional brands in their portfolio”.
Safilo and Eastman started their profitable collaboration in March 2021 with the introduction of the Eastman Tritan Renew and Eastman Acetate Renew in Safilo’s proprietary brand Polaroid Spring Summer Collection 2022 launched in the market in January.
*The recycled content is achieved by allocating the recycled waste plastic to Eastman Renew materials using a mass balance process certified by the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification system.