Warby Parker, the eyewear brand with a mission to inspire and impact the world with vision, purpose, and style, announced a new partnership with Eastman to pioneer a first-of-its-kind demo lens molecular recycling program.

One of the greatest environmental impacts within the eyewear industry is the lack of a recycling solution for demo lenses—the clear plastic lenses used across the industry to maintain frame shape and integrity while in transit, on display, and for try-on. With the 600 million frames produced annually industry-wide1, this practice accounts for over 5,000 tonnes of waste per year globally. For years, Warby Parker has researched alternative materials for discarding the plastic alongside downstream solutions, all of which have fallen short due to quality and this type of plastic being incredibly difficult to break down.