Three years ago, Costa began working with Bureo, pioneers in recycling fishing nets off the coast of Chile into a raw material that is used to create various products. Bureo established Chile’s first ever fishnet collection and recycling program. The discarded fishing nets are collected from commercial fishing ports in Chile, and recycled into a raw material in the form of small pellets. The pellets are molded by Costa into sunglass frames, The Untangled Collection. In addition to the recycled frame material, the sunglasses are fitted with mineral glass lenses, avoiding the use of any new plastic materials in the manufacturing process.

Discarded fishing nets have been identified as the most harmful form of plastic pollution in our oceans. Following the success of Costa’s Kick Plastic initiative, the launch of The Untangled Collection represents Costa’s next step in helping to bring positive solutions to the growing issue of ocean plastic pollution.

Costa is one of five companies who currently partner with Bureo to transform the discarded fishing nets into higher value end-products. Others include Humanscale (ergonomic chairs), Jenga (games), Carver (skateboards), Future fins (surf fins). Bureo is supported by Tin Shed Ventures, the corporate venture capital fund of Patagonia which invests in start-ups that offer solutions to environmental challenges.

Since 2013 Bureo has collected over 185,000 kilograms of discarded nets from 26 communities in Chile. They provide funds to the local communities helping to finance projects which support sustainable development in those communities.