It’s summer! And that means the sun’s out and you gotta protect those peepers from UV (just like you do with sunscreen or sun shirts for your skin)! But not all sunglasses are created equal. Those cheap gas station varieties may be everywhere, but if you want a pair of shades that respects Mother Nature as much as you do, consider one of these pairs of sustainable sunglasses instead.
Eco-Friendly Sunglasses
Smith: The One Built for the Outdoors
Whether you want prescriptions sunnies or regular sunnies, Smith knows sport and frames from the brand are an excellent choice if you like to play outside. The optics are clear and colorful thanks to ChromaPop polarized lenses and they feature anti-fog and anti-reflective coatings. But we especially love them for how well they stay put during strenuous activities thanks to a non-slip nose pads and how easy they are to fit to our faces thanks to easily adjustable Quick-Fit temples.
Our very favorite style (though there are many to choose from) is the Venture, which comes with a removable nose piece and side shields for extra glare and sun protection plus a case and retainer strap. The only downside: they do seem to get dirty and smudged easier than any sunnies we’ve ever tested.
Why it’s sustainable: Made with Evolve Bio-based frames.
Price: $125+
Sunski: The Everyday Adventure One
Sunski offers an awesome array of sunglasses made of recycled materials. Sunglasses that the brands designs from their home base in San Francisco. They are all high quality frames, use polarized lenses, and there’s practically guaranteed to be a style to suit just about everybody! They even offer a Forever Warranty, which means for as long as you own your shades, they’ll repair your frames if they break. How cool is that? AND if you scratch up your lenses you can buy a new set for less than half the price of a whole new pair of sunnies!
There are frames for all styles and face shapes, including options with removable side sun shields, and you can do a virtual try-on of any pair right there on the site! Our favorites (and the favorites of several of our friends) are definitely the Astras. They just fit so dang perfectly! Couple that with the very approachable price and you’ve got yourself your next go-to pair of sustainable sunglasses.
Why it’s sustainable: Sunski makes sunglasses of recycled materials and lenses are replaceable. The brand is Certified Climate Neutral and doesn’t use any single-use plastic packaging.
Price: $48-$98
Ombraz: The Armless One
Armless sunglasses made of recycled materials that also stay put on your face no matter what you’re doing outdoors? Yes, please! We weren’t sure we’d love armless sunglasses, but after miles of kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, and even windsurfing, they proved themselves as supremely capable and comfortable: they never fell off, never slipped, and we never lost them in the drink. And those polarized lenses (available in 3 colors) are no joke. You can even order regular or narrow widths!
The 5 frame styles are secure on any size head and face shape thanks to the lack of arms and each frame is available in a handful of colors. We like the Dolomite and Leggero, but the new Refugio might be our fave, especially for mountain biking. Especially when paired with the removable side shields, which cut side glare when you’re in the desert, mountains, or on the water. All the frames come with polarized lenses with scratch-resistant, crystal-clear optics.
Why it’s sustainable: The sunnies are made of recycled and cellulose-based materials, plus the brand plants 20 trees for every pair sold, so they’re actually carbon negative.
Price: $160
Opolis: The One Made of Ocean Plastic
Made from *literal* ocean plastic (not just plastic bottles saved from ending up the ocean, but plastic pulled *from* the ocean, beaches and landfills), these rad sunnies are polarized, scratch-resistant, use upcycled metal hinges and cores, and look dang good doing it. There are two styles available in four colors in the brand’s StokedPlastic™ ocean plastic collection (they also offer bio-based sunnies) and we can’t decide which ones we like best. Though the Briny style fits smaller faces better.
The StokedPlastic options also support the brand’s “waste advocates” and their communities in Indonesia, Kenya and the Philippines who collect the ocean plastic. Find the shades on Opolis’ website below and use code “Terradrift15” for 15%.
Why it’s sustainable: Opolis’ sustainable sunglasses are made of 100% recycled ocean plastic.
Price: $145
Vallon: The One Made of Fishing Nets
If there’s one pair of frames we reach for more than any other for mountain adventures, it’s the Vallon Watchtowers. They’re big enough to protect our eyes from all sides, those reflective lenses are to die for, they stay put when we get sweaty, and they just look dope. Zeiss optics are clear and sharp and poly lenses are shatter-proof. They even come with interchangeable nose pads to fit a variety of faces.
There are more styles available than the Watchtowers, though those are far and away our favorites for hiking in the mountains, trail running and mountain biking. There are performance and lifestyle options available (we dig the Howlin‘ style in the latter category) and most frames and lenses are available in a selection of colors.
Why it’s sustainable: For every pair of glasses sold, 1 kg of plastic waste is cleaned up and recycled, several models (including the Watchtower) are made of 85% fishing nets, for every pair of Malizia sunglasses sold they donate 10 mangroves to the Malizia Mangrove Park, plastic-free packaging.
Price: $129+
Bottom Line
Clearly there are stellar, adventure-ready sustainable sunglasses for every outdoor style. The hard part is picking which one (ones?) to add to your arsenal! Whatever you do, protect those peepers while you protect the planet and wander on.
