FGX chooses Eastman to create eyewear from molecularly recycled material

FGX International, a designer and marketer of nonprescription glasses and sunglasses based in Smithfield, Rhode Island, is collaborating with global specialty materials company Eastman Chemical Co. Kingsport, Tennessee, to bring innovative, sustainable eyewear frames to mass market eyewear fashion.  

FGX International, an EssilorLuxottica company, says it adopted Eastman Tritan Renew copolyester in January and will launch across its entire portfolio. The conversion will begin with frames from the company’s Foster Grant collection and expand to other FGX brands.  

Eastman says its Tritan Renew is a high-performance copolyester made with 50 percent certified recycled content derived from its molecular recycling technologies. Crystal clear, durable and BPA-free.  

"FGX International is a leader in the eyewear marketplace and, as such, we are committed to continue driving innovation in all that we do while searching out materials that are better for the planet," says Sal Mauceri, president of the sun and readers division for EssilorLuxottica. "Tritan Renew not only offers a superior look and feel compared to polycarbonate frames but, with 50 percent certified recycled content, also provides the sustainable solution consumers demand and deserve."  

Eastman manufactures Tritan Renew through its material-to-material molecular recycling technologies, which produce high-performance materials from plastic waste that would otherwise end up in landfills. These advanced recycling technologies complement traditional recycling approaches and expand the types and amounts of plastic that can be recycled. This gives materials an extended, useful life and diverts plastic waste from landfills, incinerators, and the environment while reducing consumption of fossil feedstocks and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.  

Eastman provides a portfolio of sustainable materials with high levels of certified recycled content for premium and mass-market eyewear. Eastman's offerings, including Eastman Acetate Renew, Tenite Renew and Tritan Renew, provide sustainable solutions for frames, temples and lenses powered by molecular recycling technologies.   

"Given FGX's prominence in the industry, we are proud to partner with them to bring sustainable and affordable frames derived from Eastman's molecular recycling technologies to the eyewear mass market," says Glenn Goldman, commercial director of specialty plastics at Eastman. "Sustainability matters for all consumers and at all price points, and we're excited to work with FGX to make sustainable eyewear choices available to everyone." 

Recently it was reported that Eastman would partner to molecularly recycle its demo lenses. The company says one of the greatest environmental impacts within the eyewear industry is the lack of a recycling solution for demo lenses—the clear plastic lenses used across the industry to maintain frame shape and integrity while in transit, on display and for try-on. With the 600 million frames produced annually industrywide, this practice generates more than 5,000 metric tons of waste per year globally, the company says, citing the 2019 Statista Eyewear Report.