Sunglasses made from recycled plastic – Hoi An

Most organic and plastic waste ends up in landfills all over the world. Only a small percentage is actually recycled. To combat plastic waste pollution all that material has to go somewhere else. In a circular economy things are ideally reused and recycled until there is little to nothing left. An initiative in Hoi An is producing sunglasses made from recycled plastic – I visited them.

Not Just Plastic

Not just plastic is an initiative by Frantz Byrch Pedersen from Denmark, officially started in November 2023 in Hoi An. Hoi An has many hotels, cafes and restaurants, which all produce a high amount of waste, single use plastic being among the highest amount. There are concepts for reusing or switching to more environmentally friendly alternatives, but the plastic trash that is produced currently still has to go somewhere.

At their workshop you can see different bins, each with a designation of what type of plastic is supposed to be collected in it. Next to it are collection areas were the plastic is cleaned and sorted, waiting to be shredded. These steps are essential to have a good base for recycling. Not all plastic is the same and not all plastic can be turned into the same kind of new product.

Since it’s founding Not just plastic started to produce outdoor flooring, pallets, keyrings and sunglasses from recycled material collected in Vietnam. They work with 125 “plastic partners” (June 2026) for trash collection: schools, hotels and other companies in the greater Hoi An area. These local collection points enable them to cut down on collection time and sorting efforts by involving the local population and sorting everything right at the point where it is thrown away.

Sunglasses made from recycled plastic Workshop

I was able to visit their Not just plastic workshop in Hoi An in March 2026 and see the process for myself. Frantz was out of the country at the time, stuck abroad because of the US-Iran war, but he still made the visit possible through online communication. Once the plastic is shredded into small shreds it is stored by colour and plastic type. These can be mixed and melted, before they’re pressed into new shapes.

One example are sunglasses made from recycled plastic straws! The frame of the Naya Black Frame series (last picture in the gallery below) is stylish and because of the material it is very lightweight: Only 25 grams including the lenses! Other options include the Gaia frames, which are made from post consumer t-shirts and recycled plastic waste type #5 (straws, cups and lids). Or the Mana-re-run and Naya-re-run (post main picture, left pair of glasses), which are made from recycled plastic waste and recycled running shoes.

For athletes they have the Sapa v. 2.0 and the Sapa Re-Run Glasses (middle glasses in the post picture), which have more coverage in the lenses. The frames here are made from recycled plastic straws and recycled running shoes. In addition these frames are in themselves 100% recyclable, since there are no paint or metal wires added.

And if you like recycling, but want to avoid as much plastic as possible there is the Mana series: Mana Wood (post main picture, right pair of glasses) and Mana Coffee. They are made from recycled wood waste and coffee waste (from their own office and zero waste cafe) respectively, with a binding material.

The lenses they use come with UV protection (UV 400 CE Certified) and in a variety of different colours. Some have extra functions, such as being polarised or anti-blue-light. While they don’t produce the lenses themselves, the lenses are fitted into the frames directly at their workshop.

He also told me about their three workshops available to the public:

• Sunglasses Workshop – one hour workshop where you learn about the different plastic types, the process behind making sunglasses and then make your own shades
• Bracelet Workshop – half hour workshop where you make a bracelet from marine ropes, etc.
• Educational Workshop – half hour workshop about circular economy, including plastic types, plastic waste sorting, shredding and recycling

That’s not all: For every product sold at their workshop or online they donate to the Giving Back Initiative, which has the main goal of providing clean drinking water.