Optician Awards: Inspiring change

Since 2016, Sea2See has been trying to encourage thinking about the environment by improving sustainability in the optical industry.

François van den Abeele founded Sea2See with a passion for the ocean and in recognition of the need for ecological friendly materials, with a conservation-minded use of resources that would reduce pollutants.

Discarded marine plastic, such as fishing nets, ropes and bottles, is salvaged and taken to one of 150 containers at 27 Spanish ports before being upcycled into a reusable raw material.

This material is then moulded and coloured into Sea2See eyewear, which is distributed in the UK by Henry Beaumont Eyewear, such as the Optician Award winning Positano 02 model, pictured below.

Speaking to Optician from Spain, van den Abeele says: ‘I was very happy when we won because it started as a crazy idea of mine and people laughed at me. I bet on trying to change things in the optical environment where there’s not much innovation in terms of sustainable materials.