Golden A' Design Award Winner 2021
MODO Eyewear's Eco Ocean Eyewear Collection emerges from the intersection of environmental stewardship and refined optical design, representing a compelling chapter in the broader narrative of sustainable luxury accessories. This presentation appears to situate the collection within material innovation traditions that transform reclaimed ocean debris into objects of daily utility and aesthetic pleasure, suggesting how design thinking can address ecological challenges while maintaining uncompromising attention to form and finish. The compositional strategy positions three colorway variations against fishing net material, establishing immediate visual dialogue between finished product and source material, inviting contemplation of the transformative journey from marine waste to wearable design object. The chromatic selection demonstrates sophisticated restraint, with the slate blue, warm taupe, and deep charcoal tones suggesting natural palettes drawn from coastal environments while avoiding overtly literal ocean references. Technical accomplishment manifests in the seamless matte surfaces, the organic flow from frame front through temples to circular tips, and the consistent quality across all three specimens. The rounded rectangular form language references mid-century eyewear traditions while contemporary proportions and material innovation place the work firmly within current sustainable design discourse. One notes how the presentation refuses to position ecological responsibility as aesthetic compromise, instead proposing that environmental consciousness and visual refinement achieve mutual enhancement. The underlying net substrate functions as both literal material origin story and symbolic reminder of oceanic ecosystems, its handcrafted appearance contrasting with the precision-manufactured frames to suggest the collaborative relationship between natural systems and human ingenuity. What might it mean for everyday objects to carry within their material substance a narrative of environmental transformation and renewal?
Eco Ocean frames are made from recycled ocean plastic, because plastic has no place in the ocean. Eco teamed up with the NGO Waste Free Oceans to source old ropes from the maritime industry found in the ocean and on shorelines. The waste material is shredded and molded into pellets which in turn are injection molded into frames. The collection consists of bold yet easy-to-wear frames. They are lightweight and super comfortable with a smooth, matte finish in ocean-inspired shades. Each frame comes in a case made from recycled PET fabric.