Nik Robinson and his 9 year old son from Good Citizens have (politely) beaten off half the planet to have their Good Citizens recycled water bottle Sunglasses featured in Selfridges Project Earth campaign.
Selfridges in London has given over an entire window to newly launched Australian brand, Good Citizens, and its range of 100 percent recycled PET sunglasses, as part of a major new sustainability initiative called Project Earth.
The Good Citizens brand that turns trash into sunglasses was launched by a Sydney father and his nine year old son just four months ago in the middle of COVID, and as you can see in the window, has already piqued the interest of fashion heavyweights overseas. Nik says:
“THEY SAY THAT THE WINDOWS AT SELFRIDGES ARE WINDOWS ON THE FUTURE. WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE LOOK TO THESE WINDOWS FOR THE NEXT BIG THING, SO THIS IS MASSIVE EXPOSURE FOR OUR LITTLE AUSSIE BRAND.
TO BE INVITED TO BE STOCKED IN SELFRIDGES IS QUITE SOMETHING, BUT TO BE GIVEN A WINDOW FOR THREE MONTHS IS NEXT LEVEL.”
The aim of Selfridges’ Project Earth initiative is to tell positive stories of change and to inspire conversations and considerations around sustainability along the Selfridges customer journey, making Good Citizens the perfect fit for encouraging consumers to change the way they shop.
Manufactured by hand in Sydney, each pair of Good Citizens sunglasses frames is made entirely from the plastic of one discarded 600ml soft drink bottle. A proprietary recycled plastic clip hinge design means the frames are also 100 percent recyclable and the parts are repairable, which increases the longevity and lifespan of the glasses.
What also makes Good Citizens different is that its co-founder is just nine years old. Robinson came up with the idea for the business after his son Harry became increasingly upset about the global plastic waste problem and encouraged him to find a way to help. Robinson jokes,
“LOOKING BACK, I’M NOT SURE WHAT’S BEEN HARDER; WORKING WITH 100 PER CENT RECYCLED PLASTIC OR WORKING 100 PERCENT WITH THE KID COFOUNDER.
BUT I BELIEVE IT’S OUR GENERATION’S DUTY TO INSPIRE AND NURTURE THE NEXT GENERATION OF LITTLE CITIZENS LIKE HARRY TO BELIEVE THAT A GOOD IDEA, IF YOU PERSIST AND STAY TRUE, CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.”
Good Citizens’ mission is to help untrash the planet, and to also make people think about what they are buying. While 'one bottle makes one pair' is a powerful message, encouraging people to reconsider buying a plastic bottle in the first place is the real driver, even as they are trying to affect change by doing it in style.
Good Citizens’ recycled sunglasses will be on display in the Selfridges London window for three months and will be available to purchase at all Selfridges stores across the UK. Or you can go direct to Good Citizens online anytime.
Good Citizens unique sunglasses solution has been designed with sustainability principles in mind: reduce, reuse and recycle. Each pair of frames is made from the plastic of one 600ml single-use plastic bottle and the proprietary recycled plastic clip hinge design means the parts are repairable and interchangeable, which increases the longevity and lifespan of the glasses.
Designed and made in Sydney, the sunnies come with top of the range polarised lenses, in two frame styles and three colours - Cola, Lemonade and Aqua, highlighting the origins of the bottles.
Everyone who buys a pair gets a citizen number and becomes part of the growing Good Citizens community. And what’s more, for every pair sold, Good Citizens pulls out 1kg of plastic waste from the ocean through its NGO partners. That’s the equivalent weight of 45 plastic bottles.
Shop Window: Trick of the Eye / All other images: Good Citizens