Featured Image: Corey Wilson
Dragon Alliance has been producing performance eyewear out of its San Clemente, California, headquarters since 1993. In those 25 years, the brand has perfected the craft of creating high-quality sunglasses for all of your adrenaline-inducing, outdoor activities–from the swells of Waimea Bay to the peaks of the Andes. In an effort to protect the environments Dragon shades are made for, the brand just announced in a press release its commitment to using a plant-based, environmentally-friendly resin to produce all of its new and updated injection-molded collections starting this fall.
An eco-conscious alternative to petroleum-based plastics, the plant-based resin is made from castor bean oil. Castor plants are harvested for the beans, which are pressed into an oil, transformed into small pellets and then melted down to create the frames of your favorite Dragon sunnies. Castor plants are incredibly drought-resistant, meaning they don’t need a lot of water and can grow in the aridest regions of the world where little else can be sustainably farmed. By using this plant-based resin, Dragon is able to reduce its carbon footprint in the production process without sacrificing the light weight and durability Dragon sunglasses are known for.
“As Dragon continues to develop products that enhance an active and outdoor-oriented lifestyle, we felt it was the perfect time to introduce an environmentally-conscious material into our business practices,” says global brand director of Dragon Alliance, Lauren Makofske in a recent press release. “By incorporating plant-based resin into our injected collections, we are taking the first step towards making a positive impact on the environment.”
Taking the sustainability of this new initiative a step further, Dragon sources its castor beans from Pragati Project farmers. The Pragati Project is a program aimed at improving the quality of life and increasing incomes for farmers by teaching them how to produce higher yields and preserve the environment through water and soil conservation.
The plant-based resin will be used in all of Dragon’s injected eyewear collections, both new and carryover, signified by a surfboard-inspired green leaf symbol on the frame. These shades will be available worldwide starting September 1, 2019. To get your hands on a pair this fall, click here.
