A SUSTAINABLE PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORLD

The circle of life and circular economy must see eye to eye in a world, where resources are increasingly scarce. This makes transparency and self-scrutiny imperative values for any brand with the ambition to have its designs taken seriously – and to make a difference in the world.

Castor: The miracle seed behind our bio-based frames 
To Have A Look, a lot of precious time was well spent searching for a sustainable alternative to standard petroleum-based plastic. Today, we are thrilled to have replaced the original plastic entirely with bio-based plastic – biopolymers. 45% of the ingredients constituting this type of plastic is a natural oil, which children reluctantly used to swallow to stimulate healthy digestion: castor oil. As the name indicates, this oil is pressed from castor beans. Our supplier, Arkema, sources this celebrated miracle oil from a cooperative of thousands of farmers in India. Arkema is invested in the support of the sustainable farming movement called The Pragati Initiative.

The Pragati Initiative
The objective of The Pragati Initiative is to drive and improve living standards and increase income the farmers’ income. Also, the movement works to prevent child labour and forced labour. Farmers are being educated to gain a deeper understanding of and respect for the environment and limited natural resources. Last, but by no means least, the initiative supports gender equality and improved safety measures.

The farmers of The Pragati Initiative receive intensive training to learn ecological, renewable farming and to improve their skills. So far, almost 6,000 farmers have been certified by the movement and have converted to ecological methods. However, there is still a long way to go: Castor farming is extensive in India, where approximately 700,000 farmers are engaged in the successful growth of the multi-functional castor beans.

Sustainable castor crop production is enabled by increased attention to four main areas:

• Using good agricultural practices to increase yield and farmer income
• Efficiently using water resources and maintaining soil fertility
• Driving the adoption of good waste management practices 
• Enabling better health and safety practices – and respecting human rights

Other than biopolymers castor oil and its derivatives serve as a vital ingredient in a wide range of manufacturing applications – comprising everything from plastics, lubricants, and pharmaceuticals, to cosmetics, paints, textile coatings, and organic fertilisers.

Production procedures
Eyewear frames from Have A Look are the beautiful results of injection moulding. Limiting the amount of waste, injection moulding is a fantastically accurate method. Any waste generated in the production and cleaning process is returned to Arkema for recycling.

The lenses ensuring clear vision are made from acrylic, which makes them highly durable and recyclable. Every pair of glasses comes with a case made from 100% rPET felt. This soft, protective material is made from recycled plastic bottles.

Continuously striving to reduce our carbon footprint, we communicate primarily through digital channels. Thorough calculations eliminate rough estimates, guaranteeing that we do not produce more eyewear samples or printed catalogues than required. We reuse packaging when possible and stay attentive to sustainable solutions when new means of packaging is unavoidable. We keep the use of paper to a minimum and employ FSC-marked paper and cardboard exclusively.

At our headquarters, we make sure to carefully sort every type of waste. Eyewear and felt cases are produced with consideration and respect for people and planet. When the time comes to renew your glasses, we kindly encourage you to make sure they don’t end up in nature or in the sea. If you feel uncertain about how to handle worn-out glasses, you are welcome to return them to us, and we will dispose of them on your behalf.

Scheduled transportation from our production partner in Taiwan to the warehouse in Denmark is most often by ship.

We welcome versatility
Acknowledging the worth and efforts of every human being, we believe that great colleagues can be very different and still succeed in getting the job done. Only motivation is needed for that purpose, and we always keep an eye out for team members with a special drive and innovative ideas. We make a point of not distinguishing between age, gender, nationality, or cultural background.

We work with the local unemployment offices who connect Have A Look with job-seeking talents. We are committed to welcoming team members whose way into the Danish workforce has been challenged for various reasons. We simply insist to make room for consideration. The way we see it, everyone has individual needs – and we all tend to show a little more engagement and team spirit when peers and superiors show us patience, respect, and recognition.

Have A Look was founded on the idea of being of service to as many people as possible. This idea also extends to the members of our team. By showing a little trust we get devotion, willpower, and the sincere wish to be part of our team in return. We will always welcome differences – and are in awe of the journey that many of our countrymen and colleagues have taken in order to get to where they are today.