Sustainabillity

Frameworks is a young company from Sweden founded in 2015 and our products has only been in the market since autumn 2016.

We have been working with sustainability in mind since the company started. Our goal is to make our sustainability efforts a natural part of our everyday work and continuously improve and be in the front line in our market. We are not yet where we want to be in this area, but we are redefining our existing business critical processes to create better opportunities for a sustainable product development.

In Frameworks vision to become the leading supplier of eyewear in Scandinavia there is also the ambition to become one of the most sustainable companies. Initial steps towards making more conscious choices and further taking an overall responsibility for our production and products.

As a company, we believe in taking care of our planet and the people involved in making our products. That is why our glasses are made from e.g. biodegradable materials like cotton fibers and recyclable materials like stainless steel and why we demand that our manufactures and suppliers comply with the guidelines on corporate social responsibility, given by the UN.

Our glasses are made from many different materials. The most common materials used in making our frames are acetate, stainless steel, titanium, Monel and nickel silver. Each material has its own limitation and advantages. Since some people are oversensitive to a particular metal, we produce frames in different metals and combinations. All our main materials in the frames are sustainable, in different degrees.

If we measure our products by the main material in the construction of the frame, 15% were made from acetate and 85% from metal. Of the metal frames, 68% were made from stainless steel and 32% av titanium. We do not work with leather or any animal-based materials./p>

Acetate

When people talk about “plastic frames”, they often mean frames made of acetate. There are also a large amount frames on the market made of plastic, but we do not produce any frames made from plastic. Acetate is not, as many believe, a plastic at all. Acetate is also known as cellulose-acetate. This plant-based plastic is obtained through a process where cotton and wood flakes are mixed together using acetone as the binding component. This process creates a strong, lightweight and flexible material that is hypoallergenic.

Frameworks is already using a more environmentally friendly version of acetate material Bio-acetate that is produced using only substances from renewable sources. Bio-acetate is 100% recyclable and biodegradable, which makes it a conscious material for the conscious consumer. It is also Phthalate-free.

All our frames with black acetate are made from recycled acetates or from Bio-acetate. The recycled black acetate is made entirely from waste material from the production. Many of our acetate frames are made from bio-acetate material, and as the library of available material increases, we keep pushing towards the goal of offering all collections with 100% Bio-acetates.

Metal

For our metal parts we mainly use stainless steel and titanium since they are 100 % recyclable. Any stainless-steel object has an approximate recycled content of 60 %.

Stainless steel

Stainless steel is lightweight and has a high resistance to stress and corrosion. This versatile material is both flexible and durable which makes it a great material for thin frames and temples.

Titanium

This material is being used in the eyeglass industry primarily as a result of the past and present debate on nickel allergies and the occurrence of nickel in certain other materials used to make eyeglass frames. Titanium offers many advantages: low weight, high durability and a high tensile yield limit. As a result, it can be used to make frames that are very thin and yet stand up to the requirements of users.

Sustainable products

We have created an own label that we mark our products with that are extra ECO friendly. We call it “ECO conscious”. This label you can find in the demo lens of the products and also on the inside of the temple.

An example on products that we classify as ECO friendly is the Björn Borg teen collection that was launched in August 2020.

On the Björn Borg Teen collection the ECO is a substantial part of the frames, they all have:

• ECO acetates (Phthalate free)
• ECO MEM pads (Medical Eco-friendly Material)
• Packed in Biodegradable zip bags (100% made of Corn starch)
• OBE Exchangeable hinges (This to avoid wasting the complete temple)
• Cases made according to REACH standard
• Cloth made from recycled PET plastic
• Natural well shipping boxes
• No plastics throughout packaging

Our product is often used for many years. And when the consumer byes a new pair of glasses, they often keep the old ones as spare ones. After the products lifecycle is ended, the product is relatively easy and largely recyclable. The glass that are added to our product by opticians is easily removed, and the remaining product is metal or acetate which is recyclable or degradable. But we know many products remains in people’s homes. Many opticians have started to collect old glasses, to recycle correctly or to give to third world countries.

We will keep working with the opticians to recollect our products and to send them for recycling.

Eyewear cases are a product that divides the market and us and our goals. FrameWorks would like to produce the eyewear case, that is delivered together with our eyewear frames, in environmentally friendly material. There are cases on the market made out of recycled paper and has NFC-certification and where the glue is approved as the Reach-standard. They are designed to be neatly folded to save space during transportation. But at the same time our main products, together with the glass, are expensive products that are delicate made of glass and many times thin metal. And the product is supposed to last for many years and to be used every day. FrameWorks have therefore chosen to make our cases solid, with metal cores. This to ensure customer satisfaction and to guarantee the products long lifecycle.

All our cases have been carefully studied and designed to optimize the volume and protection, minimizing the environmental foot print; optimizing the bulk shipment from factory without losing the expectations of quality and protection from the end customer.

All FrameWorks cases are delivered without any plastic packaging. Before every case came in a plastic sleeve, and the cloth inside was also wrapped in plastic. This is now replaced with paper when necessary or totally removed.

FrameWorks have during the past few years worked together with our suppliers to develop transportation material for our needs. The new shipping boxes are optimized for holding our eyewear frames, reducing the total transportation space. The boxes are made from recycled paper without any color or logos.

As stated above we’ve eliminated all plastic packaging from our eyewear cases. But we’ve taken even further steps, working relentlessly to eliminating all plastic from our eyewear frames; both to us from the factory and from us to the customer.

Historically all eyewear frames have been packed in plastic bags with smaller plastic covers inside, to protect the product; in total 3-5pcs of plastic bags/sleeves. FrameWorks have not only decreased the number of bags used for eyewear packaging, but also replaced all plastic with a bio-degradable material made from corn starch.

And we at FrameWorks will continue to investigate and develop better and more sustainable packaging solutions in the future, big and small things. For example, since 2022 we are now using a new tape made from paper, replacing the previous used plastic tape for all our shipments.

In 2019 we moved our office to a new facility. When we chose our new premise, we were doing this with demands on the environmental footprint in mind. Some examples:

• Our building is heated and cooled with environmental heating “Fjärrvärme”.
• We have only LED lights in the entire facility, and sensors that control them, so they are only on when they are needed.
• We have well cared for central disposal of waste in the correct environmental way.
• All our plastics and paper are recycled, and so are also glass/batteries/cans/etc.
• We are sorting and recycling all electronic waste and any hazardous waste.
• We are using environmentally friendly energy for our electric consumption.

We are together with our couriers DHL and Postnord monitoring and evaluating our transportation options and are analyzing our footprint.

Today 75% of our imports (in weight) from China are made by sea transport and 25% by air. And 100% of our outgoing goods are shipped by road (and train).

We are constantly looking for ways to minimize our domestic and international traveling. Due to our production and supplier being located across the world and our customers, who we visit, are in different part of the country and world, we will continue to travel, and our products needs to be shipped. The pandemic, with its travel restrictions, led to creative meeting and development solutions, helping us understand the actual need of physical meetings and traveling. Physical meetings with vendors in China and across the world will in the future be kept to a minimum, and if possible held digitally.

From early 2021 FrameWorks shifted all prototype sampling from China to Sweden, replacing traditional sampling with virtual and/or 3D printed samples. Usually, the process of developing eyewear has two sample stages: prototype and color sampling, both produced and shipped from China by air. By investing in an inhouse 3D-printer and forming local collaborations, we now conduct sampling in Sweden, replacing prototype manufacturing and shipment from China.

We only use recycled paper and avoid unnecessary printing.

We offer and encourage our customers to receive their invoices electronical.

We compile with all environmental legislations.

We are a Swedish company with production in China. In addition to our own facilities, all companies who supply us with products are added. Our goal and responsibility are to ensure that our employees are provided with a good working environment. Because of this, we have the opportunity to influence our suppliers to take responsibility for better working conditions and to decrease their environmental impact. The foundation of our sustainability work is our Code-of-Conduct which is based of UN's “Global Compact” and in it we clarify our guidelines and rules regarding sustainability within Frameworks as well as our suppliers and partners. Our Code-of-Conduct covers the social, economic and environmental requirements and guidelines.

Promote good health

Frameworks Code-of-Conduct clearly demonstrates our efforts to treat all people, employees and suppliers, with respect according to the UN's directive on human rights. We aspire for a fair and safe working environment where diversity is encouraged, and discrimination is not tolerated. That all employees are paid fairly for the job that has been done. That all our employees work in an environment that is safe, healthy and free from mental and physical stress. We require that all partners follow and comply with the standard set out in our Code of Conduct.

Equality

We believe that people with different experiences and perspectives are a decisive factor in creating a successful, sustainable and profitable organization. We are dependent on the diversity and competence of our employees. Within our organization both men and women have an equal opportunity for employment, education and development at work. The basic principle of our organization is to apply equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender. When recruiting, we strive to achieve an even gender distribution and mix at the workplace and we are working actively to make it easier for women and men to unite parenthood and working life. The organization values both women and men's ways of exerting leadership. Both men and women's experience and approach are utilized and valued equally to increase the overall efficiency and competence and well-being in the workplace.

Like many other companies, we have an uneven gender distribution. We want to change this and is actively working towards a more balanced workplace culture where everyone can thrive and develop. This is an issue that top management continues to actively work with to strengthen competitiveness and promote growth within the company.