These sunglasses compensate for more greenhouse gases than they emit

In the fight against climate change we have to fight in different fields. In addition to the transport sector, which must increasingly turn to electrification, and the construction of buildings, which should find alternatives to dirty cement, the fashion industry also has a not inconsiderable share in the climate change cake. The Covalent brand demonstrates that there can be temporary solutions for this.

For example, the production of leather emits a lot of greenhouse gases, and the fact that cows are often farmed in factory is a major emitter. 14.5 percent of the climate-changing gases are generated here. The problem for the fashion sector is that so far there are only a few inexpensive materials that have the same properties as this raw material.

AirCarbon could be a solution. The alternative to leather is vegan and can already be used today. Possible uses include sunglasses and purses. And this is where Covalent comes into play, which wants to offer climate-negative fashion products. The material used for manufacturing is created by microorganisms that “eat” greenhouse gases such as methane and convert them into a molecule called polyhydroxybutyrate.

In the next step, this molecule is isolated and shaped, creating frames for sunglasses, for example. From a technical point of view, this is a type of plastic, but it is completely biodegradable. The manufacture of sunglasses compensates for 2.03 kilograms of CO2 equivalents. The company behind Covalent had this officially certified.

Nevertheless, there is also a disadvantage: if the sunglasses end up in the trash, they release the compensated amount of greenhouse gases when they decompose, so the material is not permanently a game changer. The raw material cannot be reused indefinitely either, so after a few recycling processes, the sunglasses will finally end up in the garbage dump.

Own opinion:

Fashion that temporarily reduces the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere sounds like a good interim solution; after all, industry is a cause of 8 percent of all greenhouse gases. Avoiding and reducing methane in particular can bring us valuable years in which we can research further solutions in the fight against climate change. Even so, the question remains whether $ 150 sunglasses can have a huge impact on our planet.

Via Wired