David Green Eyewear use of nature

What made you start the journey to greater sustainability?

The harmony between nature and city in Cape Town is very special. The beauty of nature is my fundamental inspiration. My purpose in life is to bring nature to the cities of the world. The essence of our concept and product is for people to look good with nature.

What were your first steps?

Foraging of leaves, reeds and mother of pearl from forests, beaches and the like. The sourcing of natural woods also took time and care. We use real nature in each one of our optical frames. The result is a product where each piece is unique.

What challenges have you faced?

Nature requires tender love and care. We use natural vegetable dye to experiment and create colours that are inspired by the ocean and other elements of natural beauty. We undertake an enormous amount of R and D for combining nature with cotton acetate, titanium and woods.

Telling an authentic story when closing a sale on the optician’s floor takes more effort than usual. But this effort pays off for both the David Green brand and the optician and their community – natural ambassadors are the reward for all.

What has worked really well?

The use of real nature within our products has resulted in a concept and product that is truly unique and differentiated in a crowded market place. We have created fans and ambassadors for our concept and products worldwide in over 33 countries.

A hive of social media activity from our end users is testimony to the dedication towards responsible products. Feedback from the market place is that people who have previously owned a David Green frame purchase another David Green frame. Visit www.greeneyewear.com to see more.

What do you plan to do next to become even more sustainable?

We are constantly interrogating our processes. One of our factories’ energy consumption is at 80% solar and all water is recycled. Digitisation is also a logistics saver to the planet. Everything we do in our hearts is to create a company that will make the world a better place.