Safilo reduces the use of palladium in production

Safilo has formed a strategic partnership with Coventya, a specialty chemicals company in surface finishing treatments, for a new sustainable production process to reduce the use of palladium.

Through the agreement, Safilo will become the first in the eyewear sector to exclusively use Metal X – a Coventya patent that allows for a 90% reduction in the use of precious metals in galvanic treatments for optical frame and sunglasses production.

Metal X will be introduced at Safilo’s Longarone plant, allowing the eyewear manufacturer to reduce the use of palladium – a rare precious metal – and lowering the environmental impact of the company’s production processes.

Safilo’s eyewear collections produced in Italy will also feature Metal X, starting with the release from August 2021.

Discussing the new partnership, Fabio Roppoli, chief product supply officer of the Safilo Group, said: “By eliminating palladium in favour of Metal X, we take a further step forward in our business strategies focused on sustainability and we are sure that this innovation will be appreciated by our customers and consumers, who are increasingly concerned about these issues.”

The company has been making a number of changes to create more sustainable production processes in recent years. This includes adopting nickel-free galvanic treatments, removing the need for the metal which is traditionally used in finishing treatments for eyewear.

Coventya’s international product manager, Coline Nelias, explained that it was important for the company “to be able to create a material that offered the same qualitative and technical properties as palladium and could be used in replacement of natural precious metals.”

“Thanks to this collaboration, our patent has been introduced in the galvanic baths of Longarone effectively and with high-quality standards,” Nelias added.