11th Hour Racing Team Partners with Karün as Official Sunglass Supplier
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.

For more information about the brand and products please visit www.karunworld.com and for information on 11th Hour Racing Team go to www.11thhourracingteam.org .

About 11th Hour Racing Team
11th Hour Racing Team was formed in September 2019 and is led by American offshore sailors Charlie Enright and Mark Towill. Supported by title sponsor 11th Hour Racing , the team’s mission is to win The Ocean Race 2021-22 with sustainability at the core of all operations, inspiring positive action among sailing and coastal communities, and global sports fans to create long-lasting change for ocean health. Towill and Enright, who have competed in the two previous editions of The Ocean Race are currently training out of Port-La-Forêt in Brittany, France.

For press inquiries:
Robert Penner


About Karün
Karün is a Chilean B Corp based in Patagonia that aims to inspire the world into reflecting about
the question: what would the world look like if we understood that we are all nature? The brand
creates high-quality eyewear in a very different way; using reclaimed, natural and/or noble
materials and working alongside local communities in Patagonia as a way of empowering them
to protect their wild territories. Different types of waste like fishing nets and ropes from the
ocean are sourced by local rural entrepreneurs, the waste collected becomes a source of
income so those entrepreneurs can reinvest as seed capital in their own micro-businesses;
transforming waste into opportunities.

Karün recycles the material through the ECONYL® regeneration system technology to turn it
into long-lasting sunglasses paired with official Zeiss lenses and German stainless steel hinges,
ensuring the highest standards in quality and performance. To shop and learn more visit
karunworld.com  or find Karün on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube (@karunworld).