Making Eyeglasses From Coffee Grounds In Ukraine | World Wide Waste | Business Insider 

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 Thanks so much!

I worked for Starbucks and The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and we would save all the grounds in bags for people to pick up for free to use as fertilizer.

You know BI, the least you can do is link this business in the description. The country is at war, and they could use meaningful promotion, not just giving you material to monetize. * They added a link after this comment started something resembling a dumpster fire meets flame war.

Thank you for kind words and beautiful video about our local businesses! It is really valuable for my country.

There is no "coffee grounds waste problem" to be resolved, they are one of the best composting materials. I think the glasses are a great idea, in particular if you like coffee smell ☕️

Coffee grounds could be used for core material for manufacturing small furniture or appliances. For example, speaker boxes, light switches, switch boards... or anything that is being manufactured with particle boards.

For anyone wondering, Ochis is the name of the brand. They are pricey, but there is a reason for that. Durability, the time used to make them, etc. These guys deserve some support.

I'm not buying the claim that what they're using is some plant oil mixture that magically works like epoxy resin. as a violin maker, I'm quite familiar with natural resins and oils usable for making varnishes and the like, and I'm not aware of anything like that, other than perhaps urushi sap that could possibly harden with moist coffee grounds, but I believe that would take weeks, not less than four days. urushi hardens with moisture, all other natural resin and oil options either polymerize with oxygen or dry by evaporation, or would need to be melted and mixed hot. what they're showing is relatively quick hardening of a cold mix with no air exposure or heating - only two-component resins like epoxy harden like that, and the sturdiness of the result certainly suggests a synthetic resin, too. coffee grounds are excellent for composting, they actually work great for adding nutrients to otherwise leaf- and wood-based garden, park, or plant farm compost, and worms love them. coffee grounds saturated with epoxy on the other hand are effectively particularly toxic microplastic. the subtractive CNC-cut process these people are using produces a lot of waste (much more waste than glasses frames), and whatever that alleged "plant oil mixture" is will certainly make the waste more environmentally problematic than the coffee grounds were to begin with, even if it was just magically epoxy-like natural oil and resin. in short, the environmentalist branding here is truly absurd, it's absolute hipster BS.

I tip my hat to the innovative and tough spirit of these guys. They could keep making these things while their city is being bombarded by drones. What a cool product. It would be even better if they added a sheen to the frames too.

thanks to everyone for the comments🙏 a lot of effort, nerves and soul were invested in this work. I am glad that I was able to participate in this interview.

Amazing--Ukrainians have been showing the world their inventiveness and positive values in so many ways.

Way to go, such a good idea to make something beautiful and useful from something as simple as used coffee. The film is also great, about faith, resilience, and creativity.

I use my coffee grounds as nitrogen fertiliser. Just dry them, break them up in a rough powder and spread it on the lawn, in the greenhouse or even potted plants. It takes a few days for the grounds to be absorbed, and all my plants seem to love coffee just as much as I do. 😉

I'm from Ukraine. And I want to thank you for this video and for calling things as they are!

Great idea and great execution. I'm so glad you all are able to continue your work despite the turmoil.

Ukraine certainly knows how to create or manufacture such useful things. Who would’ve thought to use coffee grounds for sunglasses? I call that resourcefulness.

I've always hated throwing away my used up coffee grounds and felt like a waste to me and tried to use them somehow like fertilizer I'm glad someone out there found a use for them

Nice idea. Creative people. Glory to Ukraine!

I am very impressed with these frames. The sunglasses look really good. Great styles. I want a pair.

Amazing people, existence despite war. I appreciate as a Ukrainian American how resourceful!

It always brings me to tears to see the strength and resolve of the Ukrainian people through the fog of pain they live in. What a beautiful people. Slava Ukraini!

The amount of coffee ground this household makes we could be a whole factory supplier

Damn, I wish I could actually afford the glasses. They look awesome. Very innovative.

I think this is a cool idea. I don't necessarily see this waste as being more dire than many other types of waste, as coffee is great compost material. Any reduction in any waste is good, though. I think those glasses are pretty interesting and have good symbolic energy. My one issue is I don't honestly see how they can justify selling these for $300 per pair. Yes, they're hand-polished and whatnot with labor involved, but they don't honestly seem worth that exorbitant amount. I think asking something like maybe $150 per pair is a hell of a lot fairer and would likely draw more buyers in. As it is now, 300 per pair is just insane to me. You're preventing so many from being able to help support your business through purchase by having things at such an increased price. I've looked at tons of items from businesses shown on this channel and they all have seemed fair given the hand-made component of the items and work, but this is the first one that I flat-out feel is just entirely too much. I'm sorry, I know that probably sounds really bad, especially considering the war. It just doesn't feel like a fair price whatsoever to me, personally. Also, way to go BI in not having the decency to even leave the name and business address or website link in the description. Selfish and anannoying. Sometimes, it just feels like you're using these people/business as a content factory so you have more videos to churn out, versus actually helping them get more reach, publicly.

Bloody brilliant... Amazing Ukrainians... 🇿🇦🕊🇺🇦❤️🕶

❤ Ukrainian from India …. My mom have acres of coffee plantation.

Great job Ukraine 🇺🇦 ✌️

Really great to see how smart entrepreneurs can reuse daily waste streams for the production of new products. Who would have thought you could make new sunglasses from coffee grounds. Amazing! 🕶🙌🏼

I love how they don’t show anyone wearing the glasses

I'm not a huge fan of how clunky the frames are but the cases and the ideas for making other things using this method seems great.

Such a great and innovative idea! Hope OCHIS sells lots of them!

Just checked the web site. The collection is really stylish and the pattern in the frames looks great.

Це так невимовно круто! Кава! Це ж можна все що хочеш робити і дуже екологічно. Просто фантастика!

Now my eyes will blink as fast as my heart beat at 138 BPM!

That's incredible, sometimes peaple forget how lucky we are, these videos remind me that It doesn't matter how hard Times are, Someone in the world lives worse than me...hope than Ukraine gets up stronger than before.

This is a really cool way to recycle grounds! I'm definitely sharing this with my friends.

Awesome...love the coffee glasses...reduce reuse...creative,,,unique..

Brilliant!. Kudos to this team!. Hope they get sponsored to go global. They deserve it!. 👍

Are we changing the definition of sustainable now as well?

Absolutely beautiful, the craftsmanship and the people!

Ochis is the brand. I am appalled that the creators of this video failed to provide a link to this company. Yes they are just showing the facts and not a shameless plug, but living in the United States I see this I want a pair I want to tell my friends so they can buy as well

Coffee bean waste is amazingly compostable and makes great soil I didn't think the grounds ever had a problem finding a way to not end up land waste.

Real creative here look forward to seeing more

An oasis in the polluting world. Hats off. The world must get rid of wars created by politicians and Unite to live in peace. From Tamilnadu India.

What a great story. I wish this company every success. It must smell amazing in their workshop!

It's getting expensive in the UK, but I will plan to buy a pair soon. Sustainable and stylish, what excellent work!

What a genius idea! Cool, I don't know about that! Thank you for your support!

If coffee grounds glasses with flowers in the frames happens to blow up, I'll have to steer clear of ones that have lavender. I'd rather not be suffocated by my glasses frames. Otherwise, great concept and execution! I hope it does blow up, can be taken globally, and maybe made affordable!

Glory to Ukraine.

Great for people already addicted to coffee - it's a *constant* reminder to drink even more coffee 😀

Best use of used coffee ever!!!

It's not really a waste problem. Still, it is a really nice upcycling product.

this is amazing. I hope a huge company like Ray-Ban would do a collaboration with them. It would bring recognition but also they would retain ownership of their idea and hard work.

bless those folks hanging tuff and making something very unique.

Thanks to Business Insider team for this video

That's a very uplifting and meaningful job you have going there congratulations on finding something purposeful to do in times of uncertainty**

Ukrainians are Unbreakable. And a real modern nation. They deserve all possible help the world can give in this sad period of history.

Cool way to use coffee grounds

Making customizable biodegradable glasses with coffee grounds is a lot more recyclable and creative way to make something that I wouldn’t have thought of! so gotta give them kudos on that! May not solve the planet but it sure ain’t hindering it! P.s You know cyanide is natural!

A wonderful story of perseverance and entrepreneurship!

Wow it's a very cool story guys, definitely going to buy a pair in the future! And I'm totally coffee fan too so it's win-win^^

This is amazing. So much plastic. So this is a great idea

You can’t let THEM change how you live your lives! That is the essence of FREEDOM. To do what you feel, when you want and with whom you want!

Ukraine, miss you 🏡 Stay 💪🏻 strong

Love this! The Ukrainians are awesome people! I hope more companies would recycle/reuse/repurpose coffee grounds and other waste materials.

I am grateful to be able to have the privilege to go to coffee shops in my town without the thought or fear of war. Be kind to each other

Wow 🥺😳😳 coffee ☕ glass & frame with coffee ☕ mug 💐🧠👍

So glad to see Ukraine doing Eyeglasses made with coffee! Sunglasses count? 🇺🇦💙💛

Красавцы украинцы! От души желаю победы, мира и процветания! 🇺🇿👍🇺🇦

They also look super cool! I am asking my optitian if i can have these! ❤

Imagine spending $200 on beefy recycled coffee goggles

This is less of a waste reducing with coffee grounds as it reduces plastic needed. This would be great for shades. Also for other decorative plastic items

Wonder if the secret ingredient is based on linseed oil. Although the decision to CNC each individual frame is just weird imo. Subtractive manufacturing creates lots of removed material. After mixing with the hardener oil and the pressing, how much discarded material can be reused back into the mix? I reckon an actual die with fine grit sandpaper and shellac could keep waste to a minimum

I used to make incense from mine. There’s so much you can do with the grains.

Yes, manufacturing eyeglasses made of coffee and resin that has undergone several processes is more environment friendly than turning the waste into compost, good job!

Coffee grains and "oils"... 👀 Oil is a nice fake synonym for *Epoxy resin*... Oh! Because coffee and "oil" sounds more "eco" and "natural"... Putting Epoxy or resin, takes away all the attractive and credibility to eco friendly and "Biodegradable" stuff... 🤷‍♂️

Can you make house material out of this?

Using two rare earth magnets as a depth stop, thats damned smart.

Good nice. Now lets try making brick using this

It’s really awesome that they are giving the grounded coffee and used jeans a new life! But I do wonder that all these brands that made specs out of coffee powder and jeans are selling them at a premium price in the name of reuse and recycle, is it truly in the name of saving the environment or profiteering behind the name of saving environment? You need to pay a premium for specs, diaper, bee waxed clothes and etc. to save the environment. Is it forgotten that 80% of the middle and low income earners in the world may not afford it or it’s out of reach for most? What is the actual impact or contribution to saving our environment? What is the message here that it’s truly sending?

million-dollar investment asap

Im glad you specified they were glasses for my eyes

interesting idea. I use my coffee grounds for composting. the worms seems to love it.

Wow 😮 it’s so unique way to make sunglasses 🕶️ Glad to see Ukraine made it 🤘🏻🇺🇦

This is incredible.

What pro job you've been challenging. Congrats. I try not waste. Nowadays my coffee waste is going to my cats sandbox. But I have already done a kind of cement, which worked in-house. Lack of time to do other things.

Coffee grounds seem like a cool and a novel resource for glass frames like this. And possibly many more goods in the future too.

If only I had money... I fell in love with the designs. If I ask Santa nice enough, perhaps I could get a pair for Christmas.

Wow!!!! Exceptional business......highly impressed!!!!

Pros: reduces waste, uses an alternative to new petrochemical Cons: coffee grounds are already biodegradable, old plastic can be recycled (albeit with more emissions), the frames aren't fully biodegradable, despite plant resin. Biodegradability is a spectrum however, it is more a question of time and offset of emissions with all degrading produces.

Simply genius! Long live the beautiful independent Ukraine!

And then sell it for $500+ each. I support the idea of recycling materials, but the pricing for these "made from recycled materials" items are just obnoxious it makes no sense. You got the raw material for free because it is basically just trash. So no I don't care what they try to say to justify the pricing. If using recycled material produce a more expensive product, that business plan will be "dead on arrival". Coffee grounds are never a problem to begin with. So what if the ground coffee end up in landfills? You do know that coffee grounds are organic materials that will degrade naturally right? You can even use it as fertilizers to grow more plants. My family have been using them in the garden for years. Seriously people, don't buy the fake ideas of "organic" or "recycled" material bullshit. It is all marketing gimmick. They basically use the environmental fear and concern in people as tools for marketing. Let me give you an example of how fake it is. Way back before 2009, most clothes still uses normal material. Around 2010 onwards many companies uses "organic" cotton for their clothing materials. You know what I found out? Most of these "organic" cotton clothes don't last even 2 years. I have clothes that I bought from before 2010 that I can still use even today. I also have clothes that I bought in the last 2 years that I can't use anymore because it has degraded so badly that either I reuse it for cleaning cloth, or throw it away. So basically now, you have to throw away your clothes after using it for 1-2 years and buy new ones. You are just filling the landfill even more and here is the evil business plan, "forced to buy more" and the evil cycle repeats. Back then if you are not using or your clothes don't fit anymore you can easily donate it to others because the clothes are practically still in a usable conditions. If these people seriously want to think about the environment, they would produce products that last, so it can be used for years, donated, and recycled as materials to make new products that will also last. And consumers need to reduce consumptions of everything. Here is a proper flow to not only care for the environment, it will also reduce the cost of living and inflations. Reduce consumption of everything/demands > which will reduce the need for mass production > which will reduce the amount of waste and needed material and the price of products > which will give time back to the environment to regrow, reproduce, and stabilize.

Now I can smell my decaf coffee every time I wear my glasses 🤓🥹🥹

Is there any way we can buy coffee frames from them to support these wonderful people??

great idea of using discarded coffee ground...it could even be used to make a small accessory box or a chess set!

Slava Ukraini!!! Very proud of my people making cool shit, even in tough times!!!

Чудова та ароматна ідея! :)

Some things shouldn't be made to deteriorate. Coffee ground eye glasses is a concept asking for problems. It'll be about as good as paper straws. It sounds good at first until you realize if you don't slurp down your drink in 1 go the straw deteriorates in the drink. Not only that but you have to put up with the overwhelming taste of paper while you are drinking. Coffee ground eye glasses likely wouldn't be as strong, they wouldn't hold up as well in wet or sweaty conditions like if you work out or get caught in the rain now and again, they might leave a stain on the back of your ear, etc. Coffee grounds are already recycled into compost, this is solving a problem that never existed in the first place.

Слава Україні 🇺🇦 ❤️ 🇮🇳 love from India

do they ship worldwide? id love to order