Millions of Tons of Ocean Plastic Are Being Made Into Sunglasses

One man's trash is another man's UV protection.

March 10, 2017 9:00 am

Around eight million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year (and that estimate is even higher depending who you ask).

What’s crazier than that upsetting fact? That plastic, as a resource, is worth about $80B.

The wanderlust entrepreneurs at Norton Point heard the proverbial cha-ching while on a visit to Haiti, where so much of the man-made material washes up from the ocean. So they employed collectors and recyclers and began using (or reusing) ocean-bound plastic for their line of beachy eyewear. And with polarized lenses, too.

norton point slideshow (3 images)

It takes one pound of this plastic to make one pair of their sunglasses, and they donate five percent of their profits to clean up efforts through groups like The Ocean Conservancy and The Plastic Bank.

Norton Point Ocean Plastic Sunglasses from Norton Point on Vimeo.

We’d like to salute Norton Point for making the future of the oceans a little brighter.

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