Brand
Looking for glasses that set your look apart? That’s where Dick Moby can help! This eyewear brand was founded by Tim and Robbert in Amsterdam and is now available worldwide. When the two founders were on a surf trip, they were shocked by the enormous amount of trash in the water and on the beach.
With the goal of reducing waste, they therefore started an eyewear brand that works with biodegradable and recycled materials. Sustainability is in their DNA and quality and stylish eyeglasses are the outcome.
Looking for a new pair of prescription glasses to sharpen your vision? Or a pair of sunglasses to complete your outfit? Read about the sustainability of Dick Moby eyewear here.
All materials are purchased directly by Dick Moby’s team. Who also visits the factories regularly to check on working conditions and quality requirements.
Dick Moby frames are handmade in Italy. The supplier of the recycled and biodegradable acetate is also located and even named in Italy. This is Mazzucchelli in northern Italy. The recycled stainless steel comes from the supplier Sandvik, which has several branches in Europe.
Dick Moby uses three different materials for the eyeglass frames: recycled acetate, biodegradable acetate and recycled stainless steel.
The black frames are made of 97% recycled (biodegradable) acetate and 3% ink. How do they do it? They use the bits of material left over from their Italian manufacturer’s production. So they developed this in collaboration with Mazzucchelli.
All the colored frames are made of biodegradable acetate (M49®). The acetate is made from wood pulp and unlike conventional acetate or plastic, which use phthalates from petroleum, Dick Moby uses plant-based plasticizers derived from citric acid esters.
The material has been declared 100% biodegradable in accordance with ISO 14855 by the Belgian research institute Organic Waste System. Under optimal composting conditions, it degrades in 115 days. This material was also made in collaboration with Mazzucchelli.
The steel frames are made from recycled surgical stainless steel left over from other eyewear. Producer Sandvik is thus able to get to 82.1% recycled content, saving CO2 emissions. Sandvik takes the most circular approach possible by minimizing waste in the process and ensuring that their materials can be reused, remanufactured and recycled.
Dick Moby also strives for sustainable materials in the accessories you get with the glasses. The cleaning wipes are made of REPREVE (SCS certified) recycled PET and the eyeglass cases of recycled leather with natural latex.
To measure the carbon footprint of the manufacturing process, Dick Moby employed independent researchers. Compared to the industry average, the brand saves 924 kwh of energy, 263 kg of CO2 emissions and 5,000 liters of water per 1,000 frames.
Dick Moby uses circular materials for the frames. Some of these come from recycled sources, the recycled stainless steel is also recyclable again and the acetate is biodegradable.
What material the eyeglass lenses are made of and whether they are environmentally friendly depends on which lenses your optician uses. The lenses in the sunglasses without prescription, are from ZEISS and fully protect you from UVA and UVB rays. Generally, eyeglass lenses are not biodegradable, though you can sometimes have them recycled. The glasses with combined materials will be more difficult to recycle.
Dick Moby’s headquarters is in Amsterdam and its suppliers are almost all located in Italy. Therefore, the chain of the eyewear brand is relatively short, especially when compared to most eyewear brands that produce in China. Even if you look at the number of intermediate links in the chain, Dick Moby keeps this limited by sourcing all materials directly from the products.
Basically, the materials of Dick Moby’s eyewear are vegan, only the brand itself does not say anything about this. It could be that casein or gelatin was used in making the acetate frames, or animal materials were used for the coatings.
The eyewear cases are partly made of recycled leather, since it is recycled, animals do not have to die again for this.
Stylish, for sure! Timeless, too, especially the optical eyeglass frames. The sunglasses have slightly bolder shapes and colors. Although that does not preclude timelessness, some frames have a retro look, but each pair of glasses has a modern finish. Choose a frame
To make sure you don’t get premature defects in your glasses, Dick Moby offers a 2‑year warranty on all frames. If something breaks on the glasses that you couldn’t have prevented, they will repair them or get you a new frame.
Dick Moby communicates transparently about its materials and where they come from. Only the name of the final producer is not listed on the website, but we do know that it is based in Italy. As a result, the eyewear brand scores high on transparency.
So, are you looking for a new pair of prescription glasses or sunglasses? And did Dick Moby’s story get you excited to try out the different frames? Then be sure to take a look at one of the opticians indicated on the map below!
