EXCLUSIVE: Warby Parker Demos ‘First-of-Its-Kind’ Recycling Feat
Warby Parker is teaming up with Eastman Chemical to curb waste in its eyewear.
Specifically, the companies are targeting a recycling pipeline for Warby Parker’s demo lenses found in try-on pairs in retail stores.
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“We’ve been working on this problem for 10 years now. After many years of looking at alternative materials for demo lenses, we wanted to find a material that works and fits into business constraints — and could it be recycled?,” Warby Parker, cofounder and co-chief executive officer Neil Blumenthal, told WWD. “What’s nice about eyewear is it tends to be durable, long-lasting and serves an important function as far as vision and protection. The lifespan of a demo lens is relatively short in nature [compared] to a pair of glasses that is used day in and day out.”
Together, the two companies developed a first-of-its-kind recycling program to break down Warby Parker demo lenses into feedstock for Acetate Renew, an innovation courtesy of Eastman, which can then be used to produce future frames. The venture is a compelling one as demo lenses generate 5,000 metric tons of waste annually across the global eyewear industry. Acetate Renew is created through Eastman’s carbon renewal technology, and is made from bio-based and certified-recycled materials that are chemically and physically identical to cellulosic acetate.
Eastman partnered with another eyewear-maker Marchon Eyewear Inc. in 2020 to produce and sell eyewear made with Eastman’s sustainable acetate.
Warby Parker is integrating the material into its core styles and acetate colorways this year. The effort was a long time coming but with much potential to scale across the optical industry, according to Blumenthal.
“Our hope is that this doesn’t stay with just Warby Parker,” he said. “Optical doesn’t have a rich history with sustainability. In terms of ESG and doing good, there’s no question that within the category there’s a history of giving back in the form of volunteerism and helping discount eye exams or donate discarded frames to Lion’s Club, for example, but there’s not as much muscle memory in sustainability.
“Our industry is a little insular, frankly,” Blumenthal continued. “But [with glasses being] products that last longer, there has been less urgency than there has been in fast fashion, where garments are being discarded in a number of weeks or months versus years as we see in glasses.”
To set up for the recycling program, the brand started sending the demo lenses from its two optical labs — in Sloatsburg, N.Y., and Las Vegas — to Eastman’s facility in Kingsport, Tenn., this past summer. There, the material is broken down at the molecular level, into a blend of 60 percent cellulose (from cotton or wood pulp) and 40 percent recycled acetate content to be reused in Acetate Renew.
As for how Warby Parker is furthering joint accountability with Eastman, one of the largest polyester producers, Blumenthal said, “We found that they were an enthusiastic partner, and the ones with the real core expertise and scientists and processes to really work to come up with these solutions.”
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