Coral Eyewear partners with Extreme E

Sustainable brand, Coral Eyewear, has partnered with the electric motorsport series, Extreme E.

Through the partnership, Coral Eyewear will supply sunglasses made from recycled fishing nets to Extreme E personnel, for use during the upcoming Ocean X Prix in Senegal. 

A key focus of the electric motorsport series is to highlight “devastation caused by plastic waste, at sea and also on land,” with competitions held in environments around the world that have been affected by climate and environmental issues.

Ali Russell, chief marketing officer at Extreme E, said: “As a sport for purpose series, it’s essential for us to align ourselves with people and companies that share our core values – we are therefore delighted that Coral Eyewear will be supplying us with its fantastic range of sunglasses.”

“The sunglasses are not only superb and will be hugely appreciated by the Extreme E team, but the company is actually dealing with an issue that we all need to be aware of, and that is taking care of our oceans by ridding them of plastic waste,” Russell continued.

Working with Italian manufacturer, Aquafil, Coral Eyewear converts abandoned fishing nets into pellets which are then moulded into spectacle and sunglass frames. These are then tumbled for smoothness, rather than using lacquers, and are shipped in plastic-free packaging through a carbon-neutral delivery service.

George Bailey, CEO of Coral Eyewear, commented: “As a planet-positive brand, we exist to shine a spotlight on the incredible solutions happening across all areas of sustainability.”

The eyewear company has formed a number of partnerships over the past year, including with ambassador and British electric motorsport driver, Alexander Sims, as well as Mahindra Racing in Formula E.

“To expand this work into Extreme E is a real honour,” Bailey added, “We’re delighted to play a part in the latest event in Senegal, an event that will go a long way to highlighting the need for strong, sustained ocean conservation.”

The Extreme E personnel have teamed up with local non-governmental organisations (NGO) for a number of projects, including working with Oceanium to plant one million mangrove trees to counteract rising sea levels. 

The electric racing vehicles and infrastructure are transported by a converted passenger cargo ship which has been refitted to minimise emissions, and is also used to facilitate scientific research through an on-board laboratory.

The race, using electric SUVs, will take place at Lac Rose from 29–30 May, before the series continues to Greenland in August, Brazil in October and Patagonia in December.