I love sunglasses. I wear them every chance I get. I went through a phase where I would do all my shopping while wearing a pair. They make everyone look cooler. When no one can see your eyes or where you’re looking, it adds this mystique that I personally find very alluring and if I can wear a pair of sunglasses that makes the world a better place, I feel even better about myself.

Woodzee does that.

Woodzee is a small company founded in 2011 in Chico, California that makes wood-framed glasses. They sent me a pair to test out and the other day I had a chance to talk with Luke Winter, co-owner of the company and get all the details beyond what they have on their website.

When I opened the box, I was immediately impressed. The box was filled with wood shavings (which are eco friendly and I’m assuming recycled) holding a beautifully designed triangular shaped box. Woodzee’s packaging is made from 50% recycled materials and printed with soy ink and the triangular shape minimizes the amount of paper used. Plus the shape is stronger and just looks cool.

I opened the little triangle box and pulled out my sunglasses in a little microfiber bag. The glasses were really smooth and lightweight but felt strong. I spent the next hour wearing them around my apartment. I didn’t want to take them off. They felt good. They were soft on the bridge of my nose and didn’t dig into my ears but still stayed on my face (which is more than I can say for any pair of Ray Bans I’ve ever worn). They did’t make anything too dark either. They just gave everything a slight purple hue which was kind of nice. The next test was in the car. The second the sun came out (it’s rare in Seattle so I had to act fast), I went for a little drive. They kept those pesky rays from hurting my delicate little eyes like is wasn’t even a big deal. And they continued to stay attached to my face as I rocked out to my favorite bands. Woodzees are my new favorite shades.

I was really impressed with the product and while talking to Luke, it sounds like they’re only going to get better. “I don’t want to just make sunglasses, I want to make them better. Our stuff is well made but I want to take it up a notch. A lot of people assume the wood is plastic and they can drop it and it bounces but it’s wood. Wood is fragile, it’ll crack or break if you abuse it. We got some pretty cool innovations coming for durability. Our stuff is good but we’re going to make it even better.” I can hardly imagine a higher quality product than what I received. I’m really excited to see what they make next and definitely keeping Woodzee in my future shade purchase plan.

Not only does Woodzee make great products, they also do a lot of other really cool stuff with their business. For starters, when you buy a pair of Woodzees, they plant a tree through the Our World Program. At check out, you even get to choose which of the organizations they work with to donate your money to. Luke tells me three to six trees are planted per frame, depending on the organization. They want their customer to learn about the organization and get more involved from there. This is something that’s pretty unique to Woodzee. Luke was really passionate about it. “As far as giving back, we try to take it to the next level. We have multiple choices for the consumer to choose who they want to work with and encourage them to educate themselves and learn about the foundation that they contribute to and hopefully it inspires them to take the extra step and hopefully donate more or work with them or do something to get involved. We try to be more of an eye opener.”

Woodzee has high hopes for their future and a goal to bring it closer to home. They’re working hard to bring their manufacturing out of China and into the states. They also want to do more non-profit work within their own community. They already work with their local high school’s Regional Occupational Program, helping kids learn about product design and creation. They want to do more, though. “I really want to start working in our neighborhood, give back to our own community and actually be a part of it. My hope is to inspire larger companies to do similar things. Wherever they’re located, they should be invested in their communities. If everyone did that, our world would be a lot better. I want to grow it starting here. I’m not asking the customer to care about Chico. It’s more of the philosophy, helping out with your neighborhood. Wherever people are, if they’re successful, doing well and making money, they should be giving back a little bit. Everyone wins.” I was really amazed by his adamant urge to spread the goodwill. Woodzee knows that it takes more than just a some recycled products and a couple bucks to create change. They know it needs to be a team effort and want everyone to help any way they can. They’re incredibly inspiring.

Woodzee also has a recycle program that’s pretty rad. If you get tired of your pair of Woodzees or they break, you can send them back for 40% off your next pair. If the pair is still usable, they donate to someone in need. If not, they recycle them and use the parts for  repairs on broken frames. Luke told me “if we’re using natural materials, why not recycle them? Today I broke a pair and my co-worker used recycled parts to fix them. Nothing is wasted.” Their aspirations know no bounds. What better way to minimize your eco-footprint than to reuse and recycle? I only wish every company had this philosophy.

I cannot say enough about how impressed I am with this company. My admiration grew  and grew as my conversation with Luke progressed. At the very end, I asked him if there was anything else he wanted me to talk about in my review. His answer could not have been better.

“We’re working our tails off. I want you to put this in there. Woodzee is nothing without it’s team. We have an amazing team for how big we are. We’re really really small, about  four to five people. Everyone wears a lot of hats. Everyone’s really, really good. We wouldn’t be having any success unless we had the right people. It’s all about your team. I’ve had a lot of projects through out the years and this is a really good team. I love them, they’re my family and we’re only going to get better. Of course there’s growing pains. Being a small company, it’s stressful at times but it’s really amazing how far we’ve come just in the last 6 months and it’s only going to get better.”

Woodzee is the real deal. They’re not just talk. They work hard to make quality products, do good things and most importantly encourage others to do the same. Woodzee is definitely a company to keep an eye on and support. Go buy a pair now.

All photos by Tori Dickson, copyright 2014