Press Release
Eco Eyewear Receives the Golden A' Design Award for Eco Ocean Eyewear Collection in Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design
Eco Eyewear recognized for sustainable products, projects and green design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Golden A' Design Award in the Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design category for Eco Ocean Eyewear Collection by Eco Eyewear. The recognition forms part of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Golden A' Design Award
The Gold A' Design Award is granted to designs that demonstrate a high level of innovation and a significant impact on their intended audience. Recognized as a major achievement by the A' Design Awards, these designs are characterized by their visionary approach and the exceptional skill of their creators. Winners of the Gold A' Design Award are noted for their ability to push the envelope in art, science, design, and technology, delivering solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. These designs serve as benchmarks for excellence, encouraging further innovation and inspiring future generations of designers.
More About Eco Ocean Eyewear Collection
Eco Ocean is an eyewear collection of optical and sun frames made from recycled ocean plastic. The material comes from old ropes, nets and trawls collected from the sea by an ocean clean-up organization. The waste is cleaned, cut and processed into pellets, which are injection molded into lightweight and flexible frames. The frames have a matte, scratch-resistant finish in ocean-inspired shades, and a wave-shaped hinge refers to the origin of the material. Each frame is supplied in a case made from recycled PET fabric.
Award Record
This recognition makes Eco Eyewear a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design Award
The A' Sustainable Product Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good sustainable products by leading designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to sustainable product designers, green product manufacturers, eco-friendly product brands and industrial designers from all countries. Typical entries include sustainable projects, environment friendly designs, recycled, upcycled and bio-degradable products. The awarded sustainable product designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/sustainable-product
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/116118
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/116118
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!116118
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/295580
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.eco-eyewear.com/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Eco Ocean Eyewear Collection
- Function
- Eyewear Collection
- Category
- Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Sustainability
- Colors
- Lavender, Powder Blue, Light Blue, Sky Blue and Light Slate Gray
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Eco Eyewear
- Country
- Sweden
- Recognition
- Golden A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2020 - 2021
- Design ID
- #116118
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Eco Ocean optical and sun frames are made from recycled ocean plastic waste, such as old ropes from the maritime industry. The idea behind the collection is to help clean the oceans while showing off plastic waste as a resource that can be used over and over again. The collection consists of bold yet easy-to-wear frames. They are lightweight and super comfortable with a smooth, matte finish in ocean-inspired shades. A wave-shaped hinge hints at the story behind the frames without being too outspoken. Each frame comes in a case made from recycled PET fabric.
- Inspiration
- We wanted to turn the trend of littering the oceans by showing that plastic waste is a valuable resource to be re-used over and over. What better way to do that than to turn it into an everyday object used by many people? We believe that big change comes in the form of many small ones, and therefore our goal was to make the collection attractive to as many as possible, both through well-balanced aesthetics and comfort as well as a low price point.
- Research
- Research was initially conducted on possible reliable suppliers of the material, and we ultimately decided to use the material sourced by Waste Free Oceans, who conduct regular ocean clean-up missions. Research was conducted on possible ways to manufacture the material in order to achieve the best possible material properties suited for eyewear frames. The ideal manufacturing process was to receive the material in pellet-form and injection mold it for good precision of shape. This also suited our existing know-how in eyewear manufacturing.
- Challenge
- The main challenge was to achieve a high-quality level of the material and a well-balanced colour palette without using virgin material. For the first tests, the material was much too soft to be durable enough as eyewear. The solution was to add a little bit of calcium to the material in order to increase hardness while maintaining high flexibility in the material. We also adjusted the design to allow for slightly thicker dimensions, which turned out to have aesthetic advantages as well. The surface coating was initially too soft, prone to scratching, and generally too sensitive when inserting glass lenses.
- Realization and Technology
- To gather fishing nets, ropes, and trawls from the ocean, we teamed up with Waste Free Oceans, an NGO that works with local fishermen who collect the used plastic. These items then get checked, cleaned, cut, dried, and prepped. After that they get extruded into the plastic granules that in turn is injection molded into our Eco Ocean frames. We add a little bit of pigment and also a process stabilizer that ensures that the frames can be recycled again.
- Operation and Interaction
- The Eyewear collection will be sold mainly through optical stores all over the world. The collection will also retail in some selected clothing stores as well as online through our website, eco-eyewear.com. The packaging for the frames is also made to tell the story of the frame origin of recycled ocean plastics.
- Project Duration and Location
- Project duration was approximately one year and was conducted in Stockholm, Sweden as well as in Wenzhou, China.
- Specifications
- Approximately 150 x 20 x 50 mm. The recycled polypropylene makes the frames lightweight and flexible. The coating has a hard top layer, ensuring that the frames keep their good appearance and last for a long time. The frames come in a case made from recycled PET fabric.
- Keywords
- Glasses, eyewear, frames, sunglasses, Ocean plastic, Ocean clean-up, Sustainable, Recycled, optical, sun
