PADUA, Italy—Safilo is building on its 20-year partnership with Evonik and will begin to use Evonik’s TROGAMID myCX eCO material for premium sun lenses. This is an innovative, transparent polyamide which will enable Safilo to increase the sustainability of its products across its brand portfolio. Safilo will debut sun lenses made of TROGAMID myCX eCO in January 2022 with the Boss Spring/Summer collection. The high-performance polymer will then be progressively rolled out across Safilo’s portfolio, especially in its Made in Italy brands.

TROGAMID myCX eCO is a sustainable, high-performance, crystal clear polymer made from 40 percent biomass and 100 percent renewable energy, resulting in a 50 percent lower carbon footprint. The material offers more than 90 percent transparency and resistance to stress cracking and breakage, making it perfect for sun lenses or high-quality visors for ski and snowboard goggles. It is lightweight for daily wear. Safilo will be the first eyewear brand to introduce this material in one of its licensed brands.
 
Vladimiro Baldin, chief licensed brand and global product officer at Safilo Group, said, “Sustainability is an integral part of the Safilo’s business philosophy and firmly rooted in our company strategy: this is why partnerships with materials leaders like Evonik continue to be so important as we push the boundaries of sustainable materials and accelerate the industry. We are excited to continue building on our longstanding partnership to add another building block to our sustainability journey and expect to expand the application of this compelling material to other brands in our portfolio soon.”
 
Viviane Papa, who is responsible for Evonik’s high-performance polyamides granules and compounds business, said, “It was particularly important for us to offer to a premium manufacturer like Safilo a sustainable polyamide whose properties differ in nothing from those of the TROGAMID myCX they already use. We at Evonik also follow a strong sustainability business philosophy and are working in many areas to make our products sustainable, but their quality must not suffer in the process.”