Shades of wood

Spend an eco-friendly summer outdoors in cool, wooden shades, suggests Gargi Gupta

1.Woodium

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Woodium: Launched less than a year ago by avid biker Abzal Ameer, this range of sunglasses in chic designs are made in a variety of wood – maple wood, ebony, walnut, bamboo, etc., certified from sustainably managed forests. The brand's USP is a range that is painted in indigenous styles – Warli, Kalamkari, Madhubani. - Price: Rs 3,500 and upwards

2.Tetewood

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Tetewood: This year-and-a-half-old brand floated by a band of Chennai-based engineers with who have a yen for wood, manufactures its own designs in a small village in Tamil Nadu called Karaikudi. All their sunglasses are made from recycled teak, rosewood and old furniture, etc. The brand also exports to Australia, Maldives, China and the US. Next in line: sunglasses made from waste denim. - Price: About Rs 2,500

3.Tribe sunglasses

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Tribe: Pune-based Dinesh Relwani and Hitesh Parwani took their fetish for sunglasses a step further by getting into the business of it. They decided to bring the wooden sunglasses trend to India after witnessing it firsthand on their travels abroad. The three-year-old brand, retails primarily online, offers sunglasses made of wood varieties such as Brazilian rosewood, ebony, bamboo and old skateboard. The products are handmade and hand-painted in Indonesia. The lenses come polarised with UV protection. - Price: Rs 2,000-5,000

4.SUNGLASSES_HUNTER

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Monk Story: The Chennai-based two-year-old brand of vegan footwear and travel accessories offers wooden sunglasses named after obscure European towns – Colmar, Rennes, Angers, Toledo, Lyon, etc. The range has frames made of bamboo wood, shaped into funky shapes and coloured or engraved for decorative effect. - Price: Rs 2,000-3,000

5.Woodgeekstore

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Woodgeekstore: This Kolkata-based brand offers classic sunglass shape: the navigator and the cateye in rosewood, walnut wood and coloured bamboo. You can choose between polarised, mirrored or prescription powered lens. You can even get your name, or a message engraved on the stem or its bamboo packaging box. - Price: Rs 2,000-3,000