Can Sunglasses Save Marine Life?

WWF Australia has joined hands with online eyewear e-tailer Vision Direct to upcycle 100% of the last remaining dangerous commercial gill net from the Northern Great Barrier Reef and create fashion-forward sustainable sunglasses.

It’s not the first time that WWF Australia has bought a net license for protecting marine wildlife. Each year, more than 98,000 marine animals - including dolphins, dugongs and turtles get entangled in commercial gill nets or mistake the plastic for food and choke to death. Every year, 8 million tonnes of plastic including fishing nets end up in the oceans. WWF Australia’s Net-Free North initiative has been helping put a stop to unsustainable fishing with commercial gill nets in the northern Great Barrier Reef.

In 2018, WWF Australia and their supporters bought and removed the last commercial gill net in use from the Northern Great Barrier Reef. In doing so, WWF has been helping undo the depletion of key reef species and coral habitat damage that’s taking place as a result of overfishing. 100% of this net was then cut, melted and moulded by the Arise Collective and upcycled into these one-of-a-kind sunglasses called Reef Cycle. Vision Direct contributes half of all proceeds from sales of Reef Cycle sunglasses to support WWF Australia’s conservation work and remove more plastic from oceans. Supporting upcycled collections like those of Reef Cycle sunglasses from Arise Collective means you own something that is sustainable and useful- one of the most innovative applications of a circular economy.

Reef Cycle sunglasses are a universal square-shaped, unisex style, almost leaning on the ever-popular Wayfarer style and come in 3 colours. If you spend a lot of time near the water, opt for the polarized version. Polarized sunglasses are coated with horizontally lined molecules that help absorb light travelling in a horizontal manner. Hence they eliminate glare from reflective surfaces, improve colour contrasts and depth perception, making them ideal to be worn while driving or when spending time by a lake. Use Vision Direct’s free virtual try-on tool to take a selfie video and see yourself wearing these sunnies before you check out. Vision Direct also has an in-house optical lab, meaning they can customize your Reef Cycle sunglasses with your prescription, thereby ensuring the most comfortable vision combined with UV protection. Each pair of Reef Cycle sunglasses are embossed with a mini marine animal whose future generations depend on a Net-Free North.

But it’s not just fishing nets. Nature is additionally faced with a new challenge of single-use plastics and face masks being disposed of incorrectly. According to a recent analysis by the Pew Charitable trusts and SYSTEMIQ, the annual flow of plastic into oceans could nearly triple by 2040. We need to consciously reduce, recycle and work towards better waste management if we want to tackle this. Only then will we be able to reduce such grim statistics and not choke our planet.

If this has inspired you and you want to see the natural beauty that is the reef, consider taking a half-price flight to the Great Barrier Reef next month and support local tourism.