Thursday, December 16, 2010

TheStar Glasses you can be proud to wear

TheStar Glasses you can be proud to wear


If you've always wanted green eyes – green as in eco-friendly – the newly opened Green Eyewear Optical in Peterborough has the specs for you.

Owned by opticians Shane and Amanda Palmer, the store is the first in Canada to call itself an "eco-optical boutique," Amanda says.

It offers several brands of eyewear made from recyclable or renewable materials: Budapest-based Tipton Eyeworks (www.tipton.hu), for example, repurposes vinyl records and celluloid film strips to produce its distinctive frames ($399), while LinkSkin (www.linkskin.com) encourages customers to return their old steel-and-plastic frames and cases ($399) to begin the Singapore company's "full-circle recycling system" anew.

Other frames are made of renewable materials such as bamboo, while a selection of never-worn vintage products saves stylish eyewear from the landfill. In fact, the entire operation is eco-oriented, with energy efficient lighting, bamboo flooring, and shelving made from reclaimed barn boards.

Customers' used eyeglasses are even refurbished for donation to the Peterborough Lions Club.

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