Modo has been working closely with a well-known “green” marketing leader, Jackie Ottman, who consults with the company on every aspect of its collection. Her picture was recently on the Nasdaq building at Times Square in New York City wearing eco glasses. 


Modo’s eco frames are now validated and purchases are donated to “Tree for the Future.”


Styles eco 1021 and 1002 are part of the optical collection; sunwear is also included in the mix.

NEW YORK—Modo is taking a “green” direction and introduces eco (Earth Conscious Optics), the first optical and sunglass collection made entirely of recycled materials.

With eco and its related programs, Modo “has reinvented the whole product lifecycle from an environmental perspective,” the company said.

The collection has become the first-ever consumer brand and eyewear collection to receive an Environmental Claims Validation (ECV) from UL Environment (ULE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a world leader in product evaluation.

The ULE validation substantiates eco’s assertion that the eyewear is made of at least 95 percent recycled stainless steel and plastic. ULE applies a rigorous, independent process to validate environmental claims such as recycled content. An Environmental Claims Validation from ULE indicates that eco’s green claims have been validated as accurate by the independent, third-party organization.

“With so many products in the marketplace making green claims, we felt it was absolutely necessary to give our customers a higher-level of reassurance that we are truly committed to sustainability,” said Alessandro Lanaro, CEO of Modo. “We are very proud to receive an official validation from UL Environment, an organization that consumers truly trust.”

In addition to using recycled and repurposed materials to create the frames, the collection is packaged in recycled materials and each new pair is accompanied by an easy to use mail-in recycling kit. Eco created a system that allows customers to donate their unwanted frames to charities helping people with poor vision in developing areas of the world.

Lastly, for each pair of eco frames purchased, Modo donates one new tree to “Trees for the Future,” a non-profit organization that has been helping communities around the world plant trees since 1989. Eco plans to plant over a half a million trees in 2010.

A special Web site, www.eco-optics.com, offers more information. ■