February 12, 2020
(Newport, Rhode Island & Patagonia, Chile) –
11th Hour Racing Team
has partnered with Karün sunglasses as an official team supplier in the sustainable eyewear category over the next three years through the completion of the next edition of The Ocean Race in 2022. Karün will provide 11th Hour Racing Team and staff with
high-performance sunglasses
engineered for offshore sailing, while collaborating with 11th Hour Racing Team on unique strands of content and on-site promotional opportunities at race events.
This is the second consecutive Ocean Race in which 11th Hour Racing Team CEO Mark Towill and Skipper Charlie Enright have partnered with Karün, after working together on the prototypes and development of Karün’s first-ever sailing line of sunglasses in 2017, when Towill and Enright led Vestas 11th Hour Racing in the 2017-18 edition of The Ocean Race.
“Karün sunglasses protect our eyes from the sun, glare and elements -- and help protect our earth at the same time given the brand’s commitment to using recycled materials for their production,” said Towill. “Karün has created an example of a circular economy in practice -- supporting their local community in Patagonia to collect fishing nets, turning that material into a high-quality product that can then be broken down at the end of its life cycle and repurposed into other products and uses. We can all learn from their example.”
Karün’s complete line of high-performance sunglasses is made with recycled ocean plastics from Patagonia, striking a true balance between sustainability and performance. The lenses are constructed using official Zeiss polycarbonate with transparent hydrophobic & oleo phobic coating. Steel hinges, nose grips and rubber temple tips are some of the other highlights, everything recycled using ECONYL® regeneration system.
“We are very excited to be partnering for a second consecutive race with the 11th Hour Racing Team” said Thomas Kimber, founder and CEO of the sunglasses company. “We think that together with our friends and partners we can inspire more people into reflecting on our role on this planet and prove through example that we can create businesses’ from a different point of view, as a social and environmental welfare vehicle.”
Karün also uses sustainable packaging made from recycled cardboard, and cases made from recycled leather, thereby minimizing any environmental footprint. And their impact goes beyond the production process, every Karün product is contributing to the protection of 400,000 hectares of pristine nature in Patagonia, through the work with the local community and indigenous Mapuche people in southern Chile.
Starting this year in 2020, you can expect new sports models in the Karün eyewear collection, combining new recycled materials such as recycled metal.
