Zeal Optics, the maker of sunglasses, announced its partnership with American Forests to plant
5,480 trees, which equals the elevation of Zeal’s headquarters in
Boulder, across the nation in 2013. With the newly founded corporate
partnership deemed Project 5480, Zeal will help promote the reforestation of the outdoor areas that are core to their business as a part of their GROUNDED initiative.
“We are excited to plant a Zeal forest!” said President John Sanchez. “We believe in doing our part so that the images of the forests we put in our ads, catalogs and our marketing materials are around for generations to come. Someday I want to walk our customers, friends and my family through these forests that we helped to grow.”
Founded in 1875, American Forests is the country’s oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the U.S. In the last two decades, they have planted more than 44 million trees.
“American Forests applauds Zeal Optics’ commitment to environmentally responsible practices,” said Lea Sloan, VP of communications, American Forests. “Their efforts to build awareness among their customers of the need to protect our nation’s forests and to help restore forests through tree planting are a critically important contribution to achieving an ecologically sustainable future for all. Together, we can ensure that future generations have healthy, beautiful forests to enjoy.”
Zeal Optics has the only sunglass line in the world with every frame built out of plant-based materials. Z-Resin is a plant-based resin made from castor bean oil instead of crude oil, making the product eco-friendly without sacrificing quality or performance. Zeal also recently presented the first ever plant-based lens, e-llume, as another addition to their eco initiatives. As an industry leader in sustainable practices, Zeal is proud of its commitment to sustainability and will continue to pave the way for others to follow.
As a part of Zeal’s global GROUNDED initiative, Z-resin is only the first step Zeal took in the line of sustainability. Every effort has been made to reduce waste in production and everyday operations and to encourage consumers to do the same. One of the ways Zeal reduces waste is through their warranty and repair services. Incentivizing customers to replace broken parts instead of throwing the entire pair away through low-cost repair and replacement parts, Zeal moderates waste and encourages conservation of materials. Zeal also produces as much as possible of their printed materials on Forest Stewardship Council certified paper. At headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, employees bike to work and are proud to have an office utilizing beetle kill wood in the construction of the office, resourcefully using the sources surrounding the community.
Zeal Optics designs and crafts every sunglass from renewable plant-based materials. Zeal is also known for revolutionizing the goggle market with the HD Camera Goggle and the original GPS goggle.
