Plastinax Eyewear and Plastic Odyssey collaborate to transform ocean plastic waste into sustainable eyewear

Plastic waste in our oceans is one of the most pressing environmental challenges, endangering our marine ecosystems and threatening biodiversity. Finding innovative and scalable solutions to recycle and reduce plastic pollution has never been more crucial. This is the mission of Plastic Odyssey, a floating laboratory vessel dedicated to pioneering new ways to address plastic pollution. One of its promising collaborations has emerged here in Mauritius, through a partnership with Plastinax Eyewear, a subsidiary of the ENL Group.

Setting sail from France in 2022, Plastic Odyssey has embarked on a three-year journey, visiting over 25 countries across three continents. Since April 2025, the vessel has been exploring the Indian Ocean as part of the “Expédition Plastique Océan Indien” (ExPLOI), a programme led by the Indian Ocean Commission (COI), with support from the French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM).

One of the highlights of Plastic Odyssey’s stopover in Mauritius was the collaboration with Plastinax Eyewear, an ENL subsidiary, with nearly 50 years of expertise in eyewear manufacturing using recycled and sustainable materials. This partnership underscores ENL’s commitment to sustainability and innovation, placing Mauritius at the heart of a global circular economy solution.

The root of this project traces back to March 2025 in Chennai, India, where Plastic Odyssey partnered with the India Vision Institute (IVI) — a non-profit dedicated to expanding access to vision care. Together, they launched a pilot initiative to turn recycled plastic into affordable eyewear for underserved communities. This initiative led them to Plastinax Eyewear, which had prior experience using materials made from recycled fishing nets. Working together, the teams developed a high-quality prototype of sustainable glasses using the repurposed material sourced from India.

The visit to the Plastinax factory in Mauritius gave Plastic Odyssey’s crew a first-hand look at the prototype and the promising potential of this reclaimed material This sharing of expertise not only contributes to marine conservation efforts but also fosters circular innovation and greater access to sustainable eyewear.

"It all happened in a short time. We are transforming plastic waste into new materials and using plastic alternatives. I am amazed by how much we accomplished and this is just the beginning,” shares Simon Bernard, president and co-founder of Plastic Odyssey.