Yes, our bioplastic is hypoallergenic and safe for sensitive skin.

Our sunglasses are made from biodegradable bioplastic called Cellulose Acetate derived from renewable resources.

Cellulose is the main substance in the walls of plant cells, helping plants to remain stiff and upright. It is a natural polymer of the plant kingdom. The cellulose used for our Tiel glasses is obtained from wood pulp.

Cellulose Acetate is made by a mixture of cellulose with acetic anhydride (to make it rigid). Plasticizers of vegetable origin are then added to improve its workability (to make it softer and more flexible)

The Cellulose Acetate we use to make Tiel sunglasses is both bio-based and biodegradable

According to the European Bioplastic Association bioplastics are different families of materials with properties and can be divided into three main groups:

1. Bio-based or partially bio-based
2. Biodegradable even if from fossil resources (not bio-based) but in the future may be partially bio-based
3. Bio-based and biodegradable

Plastics from natural origins are not always biodegradable and sometimes plastics made from fossil fuels are. The advantage of the bioplastic we use at Tiel is that it is both bio-based (doesn’t rely on fossil fuel sources) and is also biodegradable.

Yes, our bioplastic is 100% vegan.

Bioplastics reduce our reliance on fossil fuels which are non-renewable energy sources that take millions of years to form (hence the reference to ‘fossil’). A fossil fuel is a carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material such as coal, oil, and natural gas and using fossil fuels requires mining, which are both intensive processes that both use a lot of energy and cause pollution in extraction.

Bio-based products like Bioplastic, can be created from renewable resources such as Cellulose acetate from wood pulp which is a sustainably sourced material and can be obtained as a waste from other industries (forestry businesses).

If something is biodegradable it is assumed that it can be thrown on the ground and will decompose over time, disappearing.

According to the International Organization for Standardization, the term biodegradable is used to define any material that can be broken down by the enzymatic activity of microorganisms, sunlight and other environmental physical agents, into simple chemical compounds such as water, carbon dioxide and methane.

Biodegradation is influenced by the chemical nature of the material to be biodegraded and by the biodegradation environment. In order to define a plastic material as biodegradable, the degree of biodegradation must reach 90% in an incubation time of no more than 6 months.

The Bioplastic used in Tiel sunglass frames achieves and exceeds the 90% biodegradation factor after 115 days in the right commercial waste facility and is therefore considered biodegradable (according to the UNI-EN-ISO 14855-2: 2018 standard).

A biodegradable material is not automatically also compostable, to be considered compostable it must meet both the biodegradation and disintegration requirements and the compost that is obtained must not have negative effects on the plants.

In general, the degree of compostability must be measured on finished articles.

If something is Compostable, it can be transformed into compost. A material which is not only biodegradable but also disintegrates through a controlled aerobic process and whose decomposition process takes less than 3 months, is classed Compostable.

The Bioplastic used in Tiel sunglass frames meets the prerequisites for compostability set by the ISO 17088: 2012 standard.

Our sunglasses are ethically manufactured by our partner small-scale manufacturing facility in China. Our partners follow environmental and ethical standards and we know this because we maintain a proactive relationship with them.