Chris Bennett: Giving the green light to ethical retailing

Green politics has become embedded in all aspects of life and retail optics ignores it at its peril.

If you view ethically sourced eyewear, recycling and biodegradable eyewear as a gimmick or a fad you may well be missing a trick.

If the feedback from Opti Munich (page 18) is anything to go by ethical consumerism within optics is set to go from strength to strength this year and builds on trends established in recent times.

Ironically, as with so many things in optics, the visual impact of environmentally friendly eyewear is not easy to see. An oil based plastic frame appears to consumers identical to an ethically sourced castor oil or flax-based acetate. This forces retail to talk about the product more. The back story is becoming ever-important as it allows the retailer to engage with the customer.