Eyes on the Prize

Eyes on the Prize

Meet the vintage sunglasses making a sustainability splash

by Neha Suradkar

Sustainability is a buzzword these days. Business owners are trying to make their products and services as sustainable as possible, be it ecofriendly techniques, organic raw material, environment-friendly packaging, cruelty-free processes, etc.

Elsa and Pauline, two French chemical engineering graduates, took the concept of sustainability to another level with their brand LunelVintage, where they recycle and renew vintage sunglasses. From the name, Lunel is a city in South- East France, where the duo had some good memories, and it sounds similar to ‘Lunettes’, which is French for glasses. Additionally, vintage defines the style of glasses they love working with.

They studied together, and it was during that time they started to become more aware of how their purchases impacted the environment, becoming more conscious of what and how to buy. Once, while looking for affordable sunglasses that would protect the eyes but would not have a strong environmental impact, they met a few opticians who could not help them find sunglasses that ticked all the boxes. The duo then decided to renew old frames found in the flea market, and a business idea flourished out of this personal project.

Finding out that ten million frames are thrown away every year in the US and Europe, they decided to change this and LunelVintage was born. Elsa and Pauline renew only those frames that are older than the 90s because of their style and quality. As chemical engineers, they did not know the structure of the glasses’ frame and the lenses. They got their training from local opticians and spent a lot of time observing them and reading about optics.

For Elsa and Pauline, sustainability is about respecting human and natural resources in whatever they do. They are the believers in the circular economy. They focus on circulating the existing resources and they value human labour. Economic viability is crucial for any business to survive and grow. Sustainability usually comes with added costs, but hardworking founders like Elsa and Pauline put in all efforts to bring down the production costs so that their products can reach consumers at a reasonable price range.

Instead of working on new glasses, they solely focus on renewing whatever exists. They try to source frames from different channels at a reasonable price and put in most manual labour themselves. They negotiate with opticians based on the volume and give them continuous work.

They have kept an entry price of USD $80 on their website for unique vintage glasses with optician quality lenses and a handmade case. At Lunel Vintage, they can renew customer’s glasses also if desired.

Read more at https://issuu.com/rareluxuryliving/docs/raremagazinesustainablepages/186