Global eyewear giant Safilo is continuing to press ahead with its sustainability agenda with the introduction of electronic invoicing in Australia and the launch of a new sun lens material.
The company told Insight from 25 May that its local clients would now receive emailed invoices in a PDF format. By eliminating hard copy invoices, it is expected to save more than 50,000 pieces of paper per year.
It comes amid a raft of sustainability initiatives by Safilo, which launched a Polaroid Sustainable Collection in Australia earlier this year, and revealed it would start using two materials containing recycled content in its frames by global advanced materials manufacturer Eastman.
In its latest announcement last month, the company said it would build on a 20-year partnership with German specialty chemicals company Evonik and begin using its Trogamid TmyCX eCO material for premium sun lenses.
It is said to be a sustainable, high-performance, crystal clear polymer made from 40% biomass and 100% renewable energy, resulting in a 50% lower carbon footprint.
Safilo will debut the material in January 2022 with the Boss Spring/Summer collection before being progressively rolled out across its portfolio, especially in its ‘Made in Italy’ brands.
“Sustainability is an integral part of the Safilo’s business philosophy and firmly rooted in our company strategy: this is why partnerships with materials leaders like Evonik continue to be so important as we push the boundaries of sustainable materials and accelerate the industry,” Mr Vladimiro Baldin, chief licensed brand and global product officer at Safilo Group, said.
“We are excited to continue building on our longstanding partnership to add another building block to our sustainability journey and expect to expand the application of this compelling material to other brands in our portfolio soon.”
According to the company, the material offers more than 90% transparency and resistance to stress cracking and breakage, making it suitable for sun lenses or high-quality visors for ski and snowboard goggles. It is lightweight for daily wear. Safilo will be the first eyewear brand to introduce this material in one of its licensed brands.
Ms Viviane Papa, who is responsible for Evonik’s high-performance polyamides granules and compounds business, said it was particularly important for the company to offer to a premium manufacturer like Safilo a sustainable polyamide whose properties were identical to existing materials it used (Trogamid myCX).
“We at Evonik also follow a strong sustainability business philosophy and are working in many areas to make our products sustainable, but their quality must not suffer in the process,” she said.
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