Locally manufactured, fully recycled, plastic eyewear

Plastic waste affects urban citizens extensively. There are currently few successful, large scale projects connecting the arts and recycling, especially in developing markets such as East Africa.

By connecting community waste collection to revolutionary, open source manufacturing, around a campaign by global artists from all creative disciplines, we will bring sustainable, exciting new products to market, proving the value of plastic waste to the general public.

Combining a team of highly qualified product designers and optometrists, we are locally manufacturing recycled plastic eyewear. The pieces will be given to emerging artists and used to create art around the theme of a “New Vision For Waste”. #visionforwaste

New Vision for Waste will prove that plastic waste can be useful and that recycling is valuable, but more importantly it will use the creative industries to prove this, while strengthening those industries and opening them up to new opportunities. The pilot project will involve working closely with waste collectors in Nairobi neighborhoods, and give a whole generation access to unique and ethically sustainable eyewear at affordable prices.

Plastic waste has become a problem that can't be ignored around the world, and won't be solved with any one solution. In countries like Kenya, where waste collection and recycling services aren't as regular, this is particularly visible in daily life.

Urban poor populations - working to support youth on the streets by involving them in plastic recycling initiatives as well as providing much-needed affordable, high-quality eyewear to improve overall productivity.

We have tested and developed open source machines and high quality eyewear moulds for our manufacturing processes and have created prototypes of locally manufactured, recycled plastic eyewear. These have been fully tested by eyewear specialists to ensure durability and robustness.

There are currently no sustainable and commercially produced high quality plastic recycled eyewear.

Open source plastic recycling product manufacturing machines specifically tailored to produce precise eyewear pieces

Impact goals:

• Increasing awareness and education on plastic recycling value chain opportunities

• Building and encouraging  local sustainable design and manufacturing industries

• Promoting ethical and responsible consumption

• Improving quality eye care and eyewear awareness and affordability

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150,000

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Impact goals:

• Increasing awareness and education on plastic recycling value chain opportunities

• Building and encouraging  local sustainable design and manufacturing industries

• Promoting ethical and responsible consumption

• Improving quality eye care and eyewear awareness and affordability

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Strong combined skillset of product design, industrial design, optometry, eyewear, impact investments, social enterprise