We spend too much time in the sun as sailors and need all the protection we can get… but, have you ever put on a pair of sunglasses and felt like the world suddenly came alive? Costa Del Mar’s Untangled Collection tackles that in two ways: great optics and eco-conscious materials.
The Untangled Collection crafts each set of frames from 97-100% recycled fishing nets. Through a partnership with Bureo (bureo.co), fishermen from across Chile, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, the United States, Seychelles, and Japan, turn in their worn and torn fishing nets through an incentivized program. The nets are sorted, cleaned, and shredded before being led through an advanced depolymerization process. The result is NetPlus nylon pellets that can be used to make Untangled Sunglass frames (or even extruded into yarns for performance fabrics). Beyond reducing ocean waste and protecting marine life, the program benefits coastal communities by supporting and empowering local workers, creating a system for long-term impact.
I’ve been enjoying the Antille and Santiago models, with gold mirror lenses, but the collection extends well beyond those two pairs and that style lens.
All Costa frames are fitted with their proprietary 580 lenses that carve out harmful and distracting parts of the light spectrum. 100% of UV light and high-energy visible (HEV) blue light are filtered out; harsh yellow light, in the vicinity of the 580-nanometer wavelength, is partially blocked, boosting reds, greens, and blues, and enhancing contrast. Built for the water, polarization is standard on all lenses.
Costa offers two different lens materials: glass (580G) and polycarbonate (580P). Here are the tradeoffs: The glass offers exceptional optical quality and is completely scratch-proof, whereas the polycarbonate lenses are lightweight, impact-resistant, and scratch-resistant. Both offer lens colors that range from blue mirror, for offshore use, to Sunrise Silver Mirror, for high contrast at dusk and dawn activities. The green mirror lens works well for near shore activities, like dodging coral heads, and the gray and gold mirror lenses are perfect all-around options (with the gold really delivering some vibrancy to a cloudy day). Costa’s Untangled Collection stays secure on my head, even on the foredeck, thanks to their flexible, well-shaped arms. I found that to also be true with their recently launched Rincon II sunglasses, which are made using bio-resin (from castor oil). This manufacturing initiative now extends their Untangled Collection vibes across their entire collection with a #KICKPLASTIC campaign. Costa’s dedication to protecting the places that we love to explore makes everything just a bit more vibrant behind their shades. costadelmar.com
