It was then broken down and transformed into the brand's signature bright frames. "That worked a treat," Dresden co-founder Bruce Jeffreys said. "There's an endless stock, an endless resource up there." Mr Jeffreys, the entrepreneur famed for co-founding GoGet car sharing, said Dresden has experimented with milk caps, takeaway containers and Lego to make its single-style $49 glasses, fitted with German Zeiss lenses. Dresden's recyclable frames are made from virgin materials and re-purposed plastics, but the company hopes it will eventually make all its products from the nets, which would otherwise be burned or buried.

The company launched in 2015 after Mr Jeffreys personally funded $4.8 million to establish and develop the optics brand, now popping up across Sydney and Melbourne. Mr Jeffreys and co-founder Jason McDermott, a designer, were united in their short-sightedness and frustration in wearing glasses, which are easy to lose or break, but expensive to replace. "The problem with being myopic is you can't find your glasses. It's a straight-out irony that you need your glasses to see, but you can't find them," Mr Jeffreys said.



"So for us, it was like, well why don't we have a pack of 10 in the bathroom?" Though both GoGet and Dresden are environmentally conscious companies, Mr Jeffreys shuns the notion he founds businesses purely on principles. "It's a bit too preachy and goody-two-shoesy," he said.

"I don't understand why there is a trade-off between the environment and business. I think there's a lot of money to be made out of solving environmental problems, like a fortune. Mr McDermott said having an environmentally and socially responsible business allows for a lot of fun. The glasses are made at a factory in Lakemba, which used to make car badges and is open to experimenting with Dresden's "wacky plastics". "People put them on their face and really wear a statement," Mr McDermott said. "Your co-worker might make a comment about the colour of your glasses, and you can say 'Did you know these ones are made from milk bottle tops?' It's a joyful experience."

Dresden is expanding its work to regional and rural areas, including the communities where the nets come from. "By sending optometrists and glasses back into those communities, you really close the loop of care from the economy, from the environment, and social and health care," Mr McDermott said. "It's very exciting."