From shoes to backpacks and everywhere in between, the practice of giving recycled materials new life as outdoor-oriented products is thankfully becoming more widespread by the day. It’s easy to see why: When you spend time enjoying nature, finding ways to protect it and keep it clean emerge front of mind. And when you live in a place as spectacular as Patagonia—a vast region of rugged mountains, creeping glaciers, ancient forests, misty fjords, and Shangri-La-esque hidden valleys that straddles the borders of Chile and Argentina in the Southern Cone of South America—that urge becomes all but impossible to ignore.
Founded in 2012 and meaning “to be nature” in the language of the native Mapuche tribe, Karün is a Chilean Patagonia-based brand that recycles old fishing nets, rope, nylon, old metal, reclaimed or fallen wood, and other salvaged waste into stylish and sustainable eyewear and accessories.