The unnecessary treasures in your wardrobe turn into high-quality eyeglasses
The circular economy is accelerating and taking new forms as Silmäasema and Emmy launch a collaboration aimed at extending the lifecycle of sunglasses and increasing customers’ purchasing power for acquiring quality products. Silmäasema and Emmy believe in a sustainable consumption model where products last longer and can be repaired. Quality requires financial investment from consumers, which is challenging due to soaring inflation. That’s why the collaboration is starting with a campaign that allows the unnecessary treasures in your wardrobe to be exchanged for high-quality Silmäasema products.
Silmäasema is becoming the world’s first vision and eye health chain to enable the exchange of used branded clothing for eyeglasses or sunglasses. Studies show that the majority of people’s wardrobes are filled with items that are not intended for future use. In practice, Silmäasema customers can give their unnecessary clothes to Emmy to be sold and earn money on a Silmäasema gift card.
The collaboration also focuses on promoting the durability of sunglasses. The goal is a leap in quality that enables a market for even more circular-economy-friendly sunglasses. This requires increasing consumer awareness about what kind of sunglasses can later be sold on the second-hand market and how their lifecycle can be extended.
“Many people don’t know that some sunglasses and other frames can be re-lensed with your own prescription, thus extending their life. In the second-hand market, a high-quality, intact, and clean product, along with the original case, ensures the product’s lifecycle continues with a new owner. Finns are traditionally a careful people, and we believe that many have glasses lying in their closets that have the potential for a new life with a new user. Responsibility is of growing interest, and for many Finns, investing in durable products is a responsible choice,” says Silmäasema’s Commercial Director Pauliina Aalto.
The first phase of the collaboration began in March when a Silmäasema expert provided training for Emmy’s product handlers on the circular economy suitability of branded sunglasses, i.e., their handling and pricing on the secondary market. In the next phase, the collaboration will expand to Silmäasema gift cards, to which Emmy’s customers can allocate the proceeds from selling their clothes. An additional 10% return is paid onto the gift card. The service will be available to customers starting April 8, just as the peak sunglasses season begins. Through the collaboration, Emmy’s customers can also take advantage of Silmäasema’s strong and diverse expertise, for example, if a customer wants to have lenses with their own prescription fitted into sunglasses purchased from Emmy.
“Finns have increasingly been interested in re-lensing both sunglasses and eyeglass frames, and in our stores, we assess customers’ old frames daily. Whether they can be re-lensed depends, among other things, on the condition and structure of the frames and the customer’s own prescription,” says Aalto.
The collaboration has significant ecological importance. According to research by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, doubling the lifespan of clothing could reduce the fashion industry’s emissions by up to 44 percent. As a result of the collaboration, the lifecycles of clothes are extended and consumers can use their sales proceeds for higher-quality products. At the same time, eyeglasses and sunglasses get a longer life.
“The circular economy, above all, is the future of business. In the circular economy, new types of collaborations that cross industry boundaries will be the big thing of the next decade. The collaboration between Silmäasema and Emmy is an example of a new economy, where the circular economy is built together and the boundaries of value chains are renewed,” says Emmy’s Chief Operating Officer Sienna Kruk.
Read more about the benefits of the collaboration and start selling on Emmy >>