KAYU SUNGLASSES EARTH AWARDS FINALIST

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Written by Magaly Fuentes -

KAYU SUNGLASSES

Jamie Lim’s Kayu eyewear made from bamboo has been selected from over 500 entries as one of six finalists in The Earth Awards 2010.

Judged by some of the world’s leading creative thinkers, The Earth Awards identifies viable ideas in areas of fashion, architecture and consumer products which represent a real contribution for an improvement of life, and marries those ideas with investors. The objective of Earth Awards is to give the winning designer the means to enter the worldwide consumer marketplace.

Kayu sunglasses, designed as an ethical fashion statement where each pair sold funds a sight-restoring surgery in the developing world, highlights the groundbreaking innovation needed to make the Earth Awards shortlist. Having already won $10,000 to help take her concept to market, Lim will now go head to head with the winners of five other categories to compete for a total investment of $50,000 on 16th September.

Julie Gilhart, Earth Awards judge and Fashion Director at Barneys New York, explains: “The Earth Awards is about empowering a new generation of innovators to propose new designs and technologies which have the potential to redesign our future. Cutting-edge fashion has always responded to the latest social trends; in such a competitive industry, it’s exciting to see undiscovered designers push through the crowd by gaining an ethical edge.”

Fellow Selection Committee member Diane Von Furstenberg adds: “This is a hot-bed of creativity which inspires today’s designers to use new technologies to shape the responsible trends of tomorrow. It is great to see innovators like Jamie Lim held up as an example of how the fashion industry can re-write popular culture by putting responsibility at its heart.”

The six Earth Awards entries to be named as category finalists are:

Sustainable Shells by Michael Ramage, University of Cambridge, England – BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Polli-Bricks by Arthur Huang, MINIWIZ Sustainable Energy Development Co, Taiwan – PRODUCT
Kayu Sunglasses by Jamie Lim, Kayu, USA – FASHION
AskNature by Sherry Ritter, The Biomimicry Institute, USA – SYSTEMS
Artificial Photosynthetic Foam by David Wendell, University of Cincinnati, USA – FUTURE
The Butterfly Houses by Andreas Grontvedt Gjertsen, TYIN Tengestue, Norway – SOCIAL JUSTICE

Selected finalists will be showcased at HRH The Prince of Wales’ Start initiative. They will appear at Start’s ‘A Garden Party to Make a Difference’, in Clarence House, Marlborough House and Lancaster House gardens from 8th - 19th September. Finalists will pitch their innovation to an audience of leading CEOs and investors at a Summit held in partnership with the Financial Times at Marlborough House, on 16th September.

Nicole Ting Yap, Founder of The Earth Awards, concludes: “The Earth Awards is about providing an aspirational platform for consumer-driven ideas, which can challenge designers to build a new economy. We are thrilled to have received such innovative ideas which have real potential to drive positive change, and look forward to showcasing them at HRH The Prince of Wales Garden Party on 16th September.”

The Earth Awards 2010 Selection Committee comprises: