Evonik's sustainable polyamide is used for the first time in sunglasses lenses

A sustainable and transparent biopolyamide optimized for the optics industry, launched in March by Evonik, has now been selected for the first time by a major eyewear manufacturer
.
Safilo Group, Italy's leading global eyewear design, manufacturing and distribution company, will be the first to introduce premium lenses for Trogamid myCX eCO sunglasses in the licensed market
.

The two companies are long-term partners, working together for more than 20 years
.
Sustainability is an integral part of the company's business philosophy, said Vladimiro Baldin, chief licensed brand and global product officer at Safilo Group
.

"This innovative transparent polyamide will allow Safilo to increase the sustainability of its products as well as its brand portfolio,
" he said
.

Safilo plans to launch the first spectacle lenses made of Trogamid myCX eCO in its BOSS 22 Spring/Summer collection in January 2022
.
Subsequently, the material will gradually be incorporated into its broad portfolio of brands, especially those made in Italy
.

Evonik says this is the latest member of the Trogamid family of transparent polyamides, produced in part from biomonomers and entirely powered by renewable energy, reducing its carbon footprint by 50 percent
.
Viviane Papa, who runs Evonik's high-performance polyamide pellets and compounds business, said it was a high-purity microcrystalline high-performance polyamide for the optical industry, and its properties were "not any different from the Trogamid myCX they already use
.
"

eCO stands for "elimination of carbon dioxide"
.
This was first achieved by substituting biomass for petrochemical feedstocks using a mass balance approach, which yields 40% biofeedstock in the polymer
.
Second, only renewable energy is used in the production of pellets
.
Thus, the carbon balance is half that of fossil products, a statement confirmed and certified by TÜV Rheinland
.

The material itself has more than 90% transparency, excellent mechanical properties, stress crack resistance and breaking strength
.

"We are working in many areas to make our products sustainable, but in the process, their quality must not be compromised
.
Premium lenses made of Trogamid myCX eCO offer long-term durability and high safety, and thanks to the material It's lightweight and comfortable to wear,
" says Papa
.