Glasses actually made out of money that’ll make you look like you are, too!
Eyewear designers are renowned for recycling looks from the past. Consider a brand like Ray-Ban that is often turning to frame styles of the 1950s, ’60s and so on for inspiration in its contemporary collections…
But recycling old aesthetics is one thing; creating your specs from fully recycled materials is another!
That’s where clever company Dresden Vision impresses us most.
Dresden have a rather lofty mission: to democratise glasses. Fact: By 2050, there will be more than five billion people globally who can’t see clearly without glasses – and we all need to see clearly so as to learn, work and play. So why are specs so expensive and fragile, and why does the production of them often leave a huge impact on our planet?
Dresden’s goal is to make high-quality prescription glasses accessible and affordable for everyone, making them from quality recycled materials, such as offcuts from money-printing! The glasses pictured at the top of this story, for example, are made of offcuts of $100 bills that Australian mints cannot use in circulation. Why throw away all that good green paper when it can be compressed and turned into nifty eyewear?
It take about $2,500 in hundred dollar bill offcuts to make each pair of recycled money frames. The recycling factor not only helps cut down manufacturing costs, it means less carbon footprint and landfill on the planet.
Being serious about the environment doesn’t mean products have to be boring. In fact, Dresden make frames in just about every hue of the main colour spectrum, letting you choose a pair that is uniquely you. Your specs can be customised, too, thanks to a nifty frame system that allows users to choose different-coloured arms to go with gorgeously-coloured frames.
It’s like being a kid in a candy store, with an exciting pick-and-mix on offer. There are no fiddly tools required to change the look of your specs, either. Simply snap in a pair of nylon pins, with spare ones provided with every pair of Dresden glasses.
Changing lenses may take a bit of practice, but it’s simple once you’ve mastered it. Push one lens out, click another back in. And prescription lenses can be clear or tinted. One moment you’re in work mode, the next you’re rocking a pair of prescription sunglasses that will turn heads.
All Dresden frames and other parts are manufactured in Sydney and every pair has a 10-year warranty, plus your money back if you change your mind within the first 30 days of purchase.
For more information, visit dresden.vision/au and start doing some good for the planet while looking (and seeing!) great.
Antonino Tati
CREAM MAGAZINE 
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