Trendwatchers do agree: sustainability, craftsmanship and local production are gaining importance. With their ‘See & Do Good’ motto, neubau eyewear has been committed to this for years. Since a few weeks the Austrian eyewear brand designs frames from biobased materials. In doing so, they strive to make our planet a more beautiful, sustainable and fairer place.
To produce their high-quality, urban-inspired frames, neubau uses innovative, biobased materials. They work amongst others with naturalPX and natural3D, developed with castor beans from India. These raw materials come from farmers who work in an ecologically responsible manner.
For example, the frames from the Côte du Soleil collection are made of the innovative natural3D, a 100% bio-based material printed with 3D technology.
What is natural3D ?
natural3D is a 100% bio-based polymer made from non genetically modified castor oil beans which neubau uses in its 3D printing process. This material is not only derived from a renewable source, it also enables neubau to produce the frames without creating solid or cutting waste, so the whole process leaves an extremely small ecological footprint. 3D printing is much greener than traditional manufacturing methods which are used to produce acetate frames. It is especially sustainable because it only uses the material it needs during the sintering process. This results in an exceptionally efficient, zero-waste manufacturing solution.
A significant proportion of the natural3D material used in the printing process can be recycled. After each batch has been printed, 50% of the residue powder can be mixed with new powder to create a new batch of products or printing filaments. This production method does not require any extra tools, so it also saves on resources. natural3D produces extremely robust and durable components comparable to those created with neubau’s naturalPX material. It is also solvent resistant and plasticizer free.
3D printed frames are also extremely lightweight, in fact, they are 30% lighter than acetate.
Sandra van Renterghem, PR & Marketing Manager Silhouette Belgium.
The natural3D printed frames are extremely flexible and impact resistant. This robust material ensures that the frames retain their shape and are built to last. 3D printed frames are also extremely lightweight, in fact, they are 30% lighter than acetate. The cutting-edge finishing and sealing processes used during 3D printing produces frames with a beautiful finely pored surface, so they look and feel great too.
Find out more about natural3D and our 3D printing process by watching our video:
7 sustainable neubau facts
– neubau frames are made from sustainable materials, such as biobased plastic, titanium and stainless steel.
– Even the polymer frames are 65% or 100% biobased. Only 0.5% of all plastic materials in the world are made from biobased materials!
– Since 2017, neubau has converted 121,000 plastic bottles into spectacle cloths.
– neubau’s recyclable spectacle cases have an ecological footprint that is 90% smaller than that of a traditional spectacle case.
– neubau has an air purification system that can filter 97% of the carbon emissions.
– Due to production in Austria, neubau saves at least 1 ton of CO2 per year, solely through transport that can be limited.
– Since 2019, neubau has a Code of Conduct for their suppliers, with strict conditions in terms of sustainability.
www.neubau-eyewear.com
