Images: hempeyewear.com
Besides being a birthplace of tweed, bagpipes and Trainspotting, Scotland became a native land for first ever hemp sunglasses. Sam Whitten made the invention, which we’re predicting to become an IT fashion accessory for sustainability lovers all over the world, in his last year of BA Hons Product Design degree.He was researching renewable raw materials when he found out that no one has ever made sunglasses out of hemp. Sam decided to be the first one. He opened up a workshop in his garage in Scottish Borders and started collaborating with fellow student Brad Smith from Graphic Design course. Bradley was responsible for branding, graphic design and social media awareness of the product.
The sunglasses were exposed for large audience in New Designers Exibition 2014 in London for the first time where they were greeted with huge interest and support. The exhibition proved the duo that there is a demand for their product all over the world. This inspired them to take the project forward, which meant that the workshop needed to be moved from Sam’s garage to a proper factory.
This is when Sam and Brad decided to raise funds in Kickstarter. To cover starting manufacturing and material costs they needed to raise £25,000. Backers of the project were purchasing a pair of ‘hemp’ sunglasses for a special £70 Kickstarter price. The end result was £37,000- project has been funded and the most sustainable sunglasses in the world have been started to make in big bunches now. Make sure to get a pair for yourself to prove there’s more than one way to use cannabis. And this way is much more stylish than the one you already know.
