Tomorrows’s sunglasses from yesterday’s waste, a Yuma Labs' project.
Totally circular and essentially different, Yuma Labs considers itself as a laboratory that designs iconic products that spark the conversation about a circular economy. Yuma Labs was founded with a rebellious spirit to experiment and rethink the way we make and use our everyday products. Yuma Labs loves to challenge itself, its processes, partners, and customers to produce high-quality eyewear from recycled materials. In other words, they design sustainable sunglasses that offer a completely different view —quite literally— on the role of waste in our society and environment.
The economy of the future
The economy of the future runs in circles. Yuma Labs believes that true sustainability goes beyond just recycling. Yuma Labs sunglasses last a lifetime, though when they ever meet their end-of-life, they’d like to see them back for recycling. The goal of Yuma Labs is clear. “In recent years, we delved into the workings of fashion, circular economy, waste management, and recycling”, says De Neubourg.
Each pair comes with a special Send Back Case that will protect your sunglasses day in, day out. When you are ready to recycle your sunglasses, simply fold out the integrated free shipping label and put the case in a mailbox, just like a normal postcard.
A crowdfunding campaign
The circular sunglasses brand Yuma Labs raised 20.628 euros in just 48 hours (double the initial goal). So far, their crowdfunding campaign already got backed by 159 people but it will run for 17 more days.
The goal of the crowdfunding campaign is to produce a new collection of sunglasses completely made out of recycled plastic waste and easy to send back when their life ends. That way, the sunglasses can be recycled again, thus closing the loop and putting a halt to plastic waste. This phenomenon is called a circular economy.
Next to that, the company launched new branding for more awareness -it was called W.R.Yuma first- and they will move their production from Antwerp to Italy, where the plastic waste will be injection-molded into high-quality sunglasses. In order to achieve that, they wanted to raise 10.000 euros.
The crowdfunding campaign consists of one unisex model called Lazlo, available in 4 colors: two transparent frames (the original colors of the recycled bottles) and two colored frames (brown and black).
A chosen circular economy
We live in a fast-paced society. Choices have to be made by each and every one of us, every day. What to eat, what to drink, how to get from point A to point B. But also how to act and interact with each other, and how to express ourselves. Every choice we make has a consequence. Most of these consequences have a profound impact on our ecosystem. The amount of waste that is generated by our choices grows every day, while yesterday’s consequences haven’t even been properly processed or recycled. “This needs to change.”, this is the conclusion drawn by Yuma Labs and their credo.
“Each pair is proudly produced in Italy at a family-owned factory, and the highest quality aspirations are guaranteed by a team that has been in the eyewear manufacturing business for decades.”
— Roald Duchateau
The company gets their precious materials back, you receive a discount on your next purchase and consumers and the brand keep materials away from landfill. When you have used your glasses for one year you get €15 discount on your next purchase. Do you use them for two years? Then they reward you with a €20 discount!
"Lazlo", a timeless unisex design
W.R.Yuma is continuing its mission to rid the world from the concept of ‘waste’ as Yuma Labs: Not just another (recycled) sunglasses brand, but a future laboratory actively researching a totally circular economy. With this change comes a whole new range of truly circular, next generation recycled sunglasses. To generate funds Yuma Labs has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.
Every pair can be sent back to them at its end-of-life through their specially developed returnable case. As an incentive to keep the material "in the loop" you will receive a Cash Back compensation or a discount on a new pair of Yuma Labs sunglasses, made from the very same materials! These ground-breaking new sunglasses are made from waste, never to become waste again.
This unique, minimalistic design represents awareness and self-esteem. Lazlo is a contemporary frame that complements an endless array of styles and outfits.
Lazlo is a play on the word Lazo, signifying ‘Loop’ in Spanish. Upon buying their products, they effectively want to invite you into their virtually endless Yuma Labs recycling loop. Needless to say as a sustainable brand they’d love to see you wearing our sunglasses over time. But whenever they stop serving their purpose, Yuma Labs would like to see them back so we can keep the loop closed and recycle them many times more.
Produced in Italy and designed to be recycled
Bulky yet minimalistic design Lazlo is a frame that represents awareness and self-esteem. They went through numerous iterations to come up with a contemporary frame that complements an endless array of styles and outfits. Each pair is proudly produced in Italy at a family-owned factory, and the highest quality aspirations are guaranteed by a team that has been in the eyewear manufacturing business for decades.
Made from 100% recycled PET bottles, Lazlo comes equipped with polarised lenses and sturdy hinges. The main components are made from recycled materials, and they are designed to be recycled again, by Yuma Labs. Indeed, All their sunglasses are “designed for disassembly”. This means that they came up with ways to easily recycle every pair upon its return.
How does it work?
Yuma Labs’ production process honors the natural cycle and mimics it as closely as possible.
All of their raw material is traceable through batch control and rigorous production follow-up. They let it reach a maximum number of recycling loops, giving it momentary second (and third, and fourth…) lives of good-looking sunglasses until it can go back into a larger recycling stream. All the while this continuous cycle gives us the opportunity to keep innovating their designs and adapt to — or even set— the latest trends.
A virtual try-on feature
Innovation is a key aspect of Yuma Labs. That’s why, next to their revolutionary business plan, they also made an Instagram filter of the sunglasses. This way, you can see whether you like their sunglasses or not. Yuma Labs is the very first eyewear brand that allows contributors to fit the eyeglasses virtually, even before they go into production. They can therefore be virtually tried on through their Instagram feature.
Written by Adam