Bird Eye wear is an innovator in sustainability / CEO Ed Bird

https://findyourbirds.com/
Can eye wear be sustainable?
How to sustainably package fragile eye glasses and sun glasses?
How did they provide 8000 lights to homes in need of eco friendly lighting?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-bird-2308a014b/

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Transcript

Cory Connors: 0:34

Welcome to sustainable packaging with Cory Connors . I'm very excited about my guest today. He is the CEO of bird eyewear, Mr. Ed bird. How are.

Ed Bird: 0:44

Hi, Cory . I'm great. Thank you. Love it. Lovely to be here with

Cory Connors: 0:47

you. Thank you so much for taking some time. We were just talking about it and you're in the south of England right now near some beautiful beaches. You

Ed Bird: 0:56

said? Yes. Yeah. A Stone's throw away, which is it's always lovely. This time of year, September. You've got the, like the sun is low in the sky and it's just, yeah, really. That's

Cory Connors: 1:08

amazing. Please tell us about your background and just kind of how you got into this sustainable sunglasses business.

Ed Bird: 1:16

Sure. For this I'll definitely need to cut a long story short. I have, I have a very varied background. I originally studied in a gastronomy to become a chef. So working with, with food and I was, I guess that's where I learnt kind of a lot of creativity and artistic ness also like working, working with teams and, and kind of build it, building, things from scratch. Then from there I moved into education and I worked in education for maybe 10 or 12 years. I was running a large education project down here in the, in the south of the UK. And we were running mentoring projects and things like that. Reaching, you know, well, over a hundred thousand young people across all kinds of different schools. So but alongside. Those things. I've always had some kind of side hustle and me and my two younger brothers, we've always worked on things collaboratively, kind of on the side, in the background. You know, be it music or events or, you know, just various projects and ideas. And we'd been working on a couple of projects. And we were learning how to design with card. And we were looking at materials and we were doing a lot of work with wood and other sustainable materials. And we, we just almost kind of followed our intuition and we were looking at okay, you know, What other things are out there that we could improve on that we could make with our knowledge and with what we know about these materials. And almost by chance, we kind of stumbled into the, the eyewear industry and we started looking at it. We saw, I guess, We would now call a bird shaped gap in the eyewear market. And so what we set out to do is really just create a brand and create a product that was not only really well made. But it used sustainable materials and in some way we wanted to create a brown. And a business that did something good that gave back to others. So a big part of our business is our kind of charity partnership, which is our share your son project. And we might talk about that a bit later. So we set off on this journey four years ago. We did all the R and D and prototyping finding manufacturers, sourcing materials. And I guess it's a bit like. Kind of pulling out a tissue from a, from a tissue box. You, you have just a small corner that you can see and you, you give it a tug and outcomes or outcomes, an idea. And following that idea, you know, you have another corner that's poking up and then you kind of give, give that one a full. Yeah. So, so we just kind of kept following these ideas and kept iterating and improving. And, you know, before, long after a couple of years, you know, we just had like a handful of stuff and we'd created a brand and we launched, and it was just kind of, it's been nonstop since then, , quite incredible, really.

Cory Connors: 4:32

That's incredible. And w what makes your glasses, and should I sayeye wear a, as you say, a sustainable,

Ed Bird: 4:41

so it was mostly around the materials that we use. So we use quite a lot of words from sustainable sources. Also use. Recycled aluminum. And as well as things like bio acetate in our cases we use core, core packaging is, is all made off of recycled materials. And we've recently developed a frame, which has made out of castor beans. So what where castor oil comes from. Wow. So we're very soon to be launching launching that frame. So yeah, that's, that's the main thing. And through that, through that process, we can kind of keep our CO2 emissions, you know, to a, to a, a minimum

Cory Connors: 5:25

that's amazing. I was impressed to see the cases are made out of cork. Can you speak to the packaging a little bit? Cause this is sustainable packaging. Is it corrugated? Is it what, what kinds of metrics.

Ed Bird: 5:39

Absolutely. So, yeah, packaging like the packaging element is a part of the business that really excites me. And that's something that we very purposefully set out to do. So not only did we want to create a great kind of eyewear product, but we wanted every aspect of our kind of product experience to be great. So we spend as much time focusing on our, on our packaging as we do the eyewear itself. And so. So like for our, for our cases, for example, they, they are made out of cork really beautiful natural material it's harvested in Portugal. So we work with a kind of a collective of farmers there and they harvest corn. It's typically every nine, nine years from from, from the tree. Wow. That's a very, it's a regenerative process. So every, every nine years there'll be harvesting different trees. And obviously, so every year there'll be re rotating and cycling round trees, but it's a really beautiful material antibacterial and it's soft and tactile. Really nice. And then alongside that we have our kind of our main shipping boxes, so that they're made from. From recycled cards and there are, there are, there are corrugated corrugated card printed with a it's like a non-toxic ink as well that we use on that then within

Cory Connors: 7:06

those boxes.

Ed Bird: 7:06

Very nice. Yeah, they are. There, they are. They're really nice. So we call our boxes, our nest boxes, of course it's but I wear so nest boxes. And Inside that our cases sit in this kind of beautiful kind of hexagonal sleeve, which is called Flexi-hex. And this is something that is made. It's made in Germany, but the cases like fit inside this this kind of hexagonal kind of corrugated sleeve. And it just like really, really snug. It keeps them really safe for shipping all over the world. They're, they're kind of, they're partly made out of. Virgin paper and some recycled as well. And probably the most exciting thing that we've developed with our packaging is our mail mailer bags. So w we launched these just a few months ago and we worked with a with a specialist manufacturer here in the UK, and these are made out of I, I forget all the completely technical words and terms for them because there there's some scientific names that I can just not pronounce, but th there are some kind of poly alcohol bag, but they are, if, if anyone is aware of the, the tablets that you put inside a, a dishwasher. Yes. And so those, so those, those tablets they'll often have like a dissolvable film on them, which, which when the, when the tablet pops. Into the dishwasher, the film will dissolve and it's non-toxic and it gets washed away. So our mailer bags are essentially kind of a next step on from that. So there are slightly more robust version from that. There again, they are the non-toxic, but they're completely water soluble. So. So you can, you, you can cut this up and, you know, put it in a bowl of boiling water and it will completely dissolve and you can wash it down the sink. And yeah, so just, you know, really great, really useful. We use non-toxic inks on these as well. And it basically breaks down into a kind of non-toxic biomass, which is mostly mostly serious. So very low carbon footprint on the, on those. And yeah, so that, that's something that people can read more about on on our website and even kind of see it in action as it's dissolving in, in in, in water. And for us that has, this has become a really good way for us to safely ship products around the world in a mailer bag. Secure and won't rip open, but is more eco-friendly and can be easily disposed of either by reusing it or recycling it, or, you know, people can, can what they can, they can put it in the bin if they like, or they can simply kind of dissolve it using.

Cory Connors: 9:56

We'll have to figure out an R word for dissolve, because that could be the next one, reduce, reuse, recycle, dissolve, but I don't know what we call it, but well done. I interviewed the, the team Sam Boex from Flexi-hex on my podcast. So you can check out that episode too. They're an amazing company also based in the UK. I'm sure you knew that. But you guys seem to have very similar values and so what a great partnership. Yes. Yeah.

Ed Bird: 10:26

They, that they're based not too far from us, actually down, down here in the, in, in the south.

Cory Connors: 10:32

That's great. Are you a surfer as well? Sam and his brother are surfers and

Ed Bird: 10:37

yeah, likewise, I think it's hard to live in the Southwest of the UK and not be a surfer with so many great features and breaks around.

Cory Connors: 10:46

I had no idea you know, here in Oregon, some people surf, but it's really cold. But as you know, south of us in California, it's very common. But I hadn't thought about the UK being a great hot surf spot. So I've learned that from salmon and you. That's cool. Well, you, you mentioned your your charity that you guys work with share the sun. It's and solar aid. Can you speak to that? Tell us about that program.

Ed Bird: 11:15

Yeah, so that was something that we embedded in the brand and the business very early on. We knew that we wanted to be a, a force for good as a, as a business. And so when we were getting started, we were looking for. Some kind of charity connection. And for us at the time we started out making some glasses. So we were thinking, you know, sunglasses, sunshine, solar. So for us, you know, some kind of solar light partnership, it just fit really well. So we pitched the idea. To soda raid. They loved it. And yeah, the rest is history and working through solar aid. What solar aid's mission is, they work with teams across Sub-Saharan Africa, mostly in places like Malawi and Zambia and Uganda. And it's basically replacing the use of fossil fuel lamps within people's homes. So there's a real infrastructure problem across Africa. There's over 600 million people that don't have access to any kind of electricity or power. And when the sun goes down in Africa, which is often, you know, six or seven, o'clock, it's completely pitch black. I mean, it's, it's really, really dark it's right. It's right on the equator. So there's no, there's very little residual light, so it's completely pitch black. So for people living in, living in houses, they have to try and create lights. So they will burn. Sometimes petrol or parafin or kerosene in these makeshift burners, or they will sometimes even burn straw inside and then they would just hold, you know, they will hold a handful of straw and they will, they will burn it while, while they're, you know, trying to cook or something, just to see what you're doing. And of course, you know, doing that is, is highly dangerous. You know, they all give off some. Toxic smoke there's fire risks. If people are buying petrol or kerosene, they have to, they have to find the money to buy it as well. So working with solar rate really, it allows. Us to replace the use of those kinds of toxic burners with clean, safe, renewable solar lights. I have a couple of examples with me here. So this is what a very small one looks like really, really bright, really simple. And and this is what one of the one of the kerosene kind of burners looks like again, you know, very kind of makeshift. So. Yeah. So, so through that, we're able to have a real impact on families lives on, you know, children's lives that are looking to, you know, study after, after dark and do homework for school. They're not limited to home use so people can use them, you know, in garages and fixing cars, they can strap them to their bikes. You know, if they're biking somewhere or just simply, you know, walking to the market or walking to get water becomes safer because they, because they have a light. So for us, that's just something that's been really positive. Our customers love it. And it's really embedded in the core of of what we're, what we're about as.

Cory Connors: 14:30

It's fantastic to see companies like you take a step towards a real partnership with a great charity. So well done kudos to you and your team. Great idea. So are they you know, is it something that every purchase, a certain percentage of profit goes to.

Ed Bird: 14:50

Yes. Yes. So it, it works out roughly that every, every pair that we sell pays to distribute a, a solar light out there. So to date we've reached well, it must be well over 8,000 families. Wow. Amazing.

Cory Connors: 15:08

That's incredible. And that's a big number and I'm expecting that to rise quickly as you're you're a great company grows. Good job.

Ed Bird: 15:16

We have so too.

Cory Connors: 15:18

So what do you see as kind of steering back towards your packaging discussion? What do you see as the future of sustainability in packaging? You guys have taken some really. Great steps and buying packaging that is very sustainable. As far as I can tell what is the next step? What do you think will improve it even further?

Ed Bird: 15:41

Well, we, we would love to see this kind of packaging become the norm for more companies. And that's definitely something that we are advocating and, you know, we are, we share within our network. So we're also a B Corp. So we, we work with lots of other companies in trying to kind of advocate change within within industries in terms of. Better packaging and trying to bring down CO2 emissions and so on. I think there are some really exciting material. On on the market and exciting things, emerging, you know, much like a flexi hex you know, as a director replacement for plastic bubble, bubble wrap and, and so on. I think there's, there's even more things to come. You know, people are using you know, like the byproducts of, of coffee or mushrooms, you know, I think there's, there's just, there's loads of innovation and that's something that really excites us both in. Product manufacturing and also are, are kind of the, the packaging that we're shipping our product then as well.

Cory Connors: 16:47

It's a fantastic thing to think about the future of sustainability. I think about it all the time. Just I'm, I'm fascinated with it. Do you think that recycling will continue to improve in, in our world soon?

Ed Bird: 17:02

I think it needs. In, in a big way. I think that's something that from a government level needs, needs to have more inputs and governments need to be legislating harder, I think for recycling to become better. Because even, even though like our local kind of counselor has a really great recycling program, you know, separating out the different types of recycling and foods and all of those kinds of things. But when it goes through the system, the percentage to act actually ends up getting recycle is, is very low. You know, it's maybe 10%, 20% kind of maximum. So I think the government needs to really invest in those infrastructures that can Firstly deal with the amounts with the volumes of, of recycling that are going through the system and then just, I guess, better avenues to process them. And so as, as companies start using more and more recyclable materials and start making the switch away from non-recyclable materials that, that will hopefully drive that that kind of culture shifts.

Cory Connors: 18:15

I totally agree. I had the honor of going to a waste expo in Las Vegas this year and got to see hundreds of amazing companies doing incredible things with recycling optical, sorters, and Really impressive very innovative materials coming out, like you said. So I'm excited personally, about the future of sustainable packaging. Do you guys have a company called Ridwell or Recyclops or something like those there, where they come to your door and pick up recycling?

Ed Bird: 18:53

We do have. A few around the UK. I can't remember their names, but I think it's quite early days in the UK. And most of those services you have to buy, you have to buy into them. Yeah. So I think for a lot of companies, if they can get away without spending the money, they, they will. Sure. So I think that's where the, the kind of the government legislation being a help that will just kind of make it mandatory for, you know, for local councils to you know, to up up their recycling game and for companies to up the kind of material use and recycling game or.

Cory Connors: 19:32

That's very exciting. I'm looking forward to purchasing some of your, your sunglasses and I really want to thank you for your time today. Can can you tell the audience how to get ahold of you at your company?

Ed Bird: 19:44

Sure so people can find us online. You can search for us using find your birds. So on social media, it's just find your birds or our website is find your birds.com and you can read all about. Look through our styles, you know, find out more about our story and what we're doing. We ship globally as well. So we live in a global world which is, which is great. It comes with it comes with challenges, but it's also, it comes with plenty of opportunity as well.

Cory Connors: 20:15

For sure. We're all in this together. Aren't we absolutely I'd like to thank our sponsor Landsberg ORORA for their continued support. And please Make sure to tell your friends about this podcast and give us a rating so we can continue to make great episodes like this one. Thank you, Mr. Bird for your time. I really appreciate it.

Ed Bird: 20:35

You're very welcome. Nice to join. Thank you, sir.