Italian fashion house Gucci has teamed up with manufacturer Safilo to create an eyewear collection made ??from a new type of acetate "containing a much higher percentage of naturally-occurring ingredients," reports Coco Perez.
"The acetate is the result of an extensive research to increasingly use material components of a natural origin,” said Safilo Group CEO Roberto Vedovotto.
“This initiative, together with the other ones that will come, is part of the long-term path for environmental sustainability that Safilo has decided to follow as part of its strategy."
The acetate has been created in colors exclusively for Gucci brand eyewear, flamed Havana with either a red background or a green background.
In addition to the four new sustainable styles offered as an alternative to petroleum-derived plastic, the collaboration will also offer shield or wraparound sunglasses made from castor oil seeds.
These models feature the same comfort of the best plastic currently used in the eyewear industry, but contain a large component from natural sources, which in turn helps reduce CO2 emissions during the production process itself.
The packaging and catalogs for the line will also be environmentally-sound. Gucci’s shopping bags are 100 percent recyclable, and the brand makes an effort to practice energy-saving initiatives in all of their retail stores.
The eco-friendly optical frames will be available in Gucci stores in September, and the sunglasses will arrive in October.