If you are into fashion yet conscious about saving the environment, you must have looked for plastic alternatives for your eyewear. If you have looked for high-end products, you may have come across the term “acetate.”
Many eyewear companies use acetate due to its premium finish and the perfect amount of flexibility. That means if you can buy a pair of acetate eyewear on the internet, you can take it to the local optician to get it adjusted. They will be able to bend it gently so that it fits your face perfectly.
Even though a lot of companies mention acetate as an eco-friendly measure to manufacture glasses, you can’t be sure about it unless you dig deeper. If you want to find out more about what is acetate and whether it is sustainable or not, you have come to the right place. In this article we are going to talk about all these things, and more.
What Is Acetate
Acetate is similar to rayon viscose, which means it is a semi-synthetic substance. The base used for the manufacturing process is mostly tree pulp that gets treated with several acids to obtain the powder.
The powder is then melted into a gooey substance, which can be either stretched into a fabric-like material or molded into a substance that resembles plastic. The most common uses of acetate include dress lining, cigarette butts, and eyewear.
Is Acetate Sustainable and Biodegradable?
Acetate can be biodegradable, but the length of time it takes to disintegrate depends on the use and the manufacturing process. Studies have shown that cigarette butts can take up to 10 years to decompose. The sustainability of acetate also depends on the manufacturer.
Since the production of acetate involves the use of many acids, the manufacturing must be done in properly regulated environments for the safety of the workers. Bio-acetate can be made without any synthetic plasticizers that contain phthalates. Mazzucchelli in Italy is regarded as the best manufacturer of acetate in the world, and they follow the European Union’s guidelines for the production of the material.
Although many eyewear brands claim that they use acetate to make their products sustainable and biodegradable, very few of them publicly state where they procure the acetate from or how they use it. We dug into make websites to understand their acetate sourcing process, but most of the websites do not provide the information.
It led us to assume that most of the acetate they use comes from China, which makes us doubt the sustainability of the manufacturing process. Christopher Cloos was one of the only exceptions. Their website clearly mentions that their range of Cloos x Brady eyewear is made from Italian M49 acetate that they source from Mazzucchelli. That means these products are 100% eco friendly and sustainable.
Can Acetate Get Recycled?
In technical terms, acetate is 100% recyclable. But unfortunately, there aren’t any services that recycle acetate sunglasses in the United States yet. However, many non-profits recycle acetate in Europe not only from sunglasses but also from cigarette butts. A recycled block of acetate looks a lot like the material used in tortoiseshell glasses.
You cannot recycle your acetate sunglasses with other plastic. Technically they are supposed to get recycled with the newspaper since they are both made with wood pulp. However, a municipal employee in America would not be able to distinguish between acetate and plastic sunglasses and would end up tossing it with other plastic trash.
However, acetate eyewear frames can last for a long time, so use them as long as you can. If they get scratched, or you get bored with them, you can always donate them. Or you can put them for recycling on your trip to Europe.
So to put it in a nutshell, acetate is an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to plastic to make eyewear. However, there are certain conditions to that, such as:
- The acetate must be manufactured from biodegradable plant sources.
- The acetate is procured from vetted sources that manufacture acetate under strict European guidelines (since there is not a lot of acetate manufacturing in the United States).
- The frames are of premium quality that will last for a long time.
- The eyewear brand has a disclosure on their website about where they get the acetate from and how they use it.
So if you have been looking for an eco-friendly alternative to plastic frames, acetate eyewear can be perfect for you. However, make sure that before you buy a pair, you look at the information on the website to understand the factors that we discussed above. That will ensure that your acetate fashion wear is truly eco-friendly and sustainable.
