CR-39 vs. Nylon vs. Polycarbonate: The Brand’s Guide to Sourcing Premium Sunglass Lenses
When launching a private label sunglasses collection, brands often spend 90% of their design energy on the frames—selecting the perfect acetate colors, tweaking the CAD shapes, or testing titanium hinges. However, the lenses are what your customers actually look through.
Choosing the wrong lens material can compromise your brand’s reputation. A cheap lens can cause optical distortion (leading to headaches), scratch within a week of use, or crack under pressure. Conversely, over-specifying high-end lenses for a budget sunglasses line can destroy your profit margins.
For premium eyewear brands and optical retailers, understanding the differences between CR-39 (organic plastic), Nylon (polyamide), and Polycarbonate (PC) lenses is essential for optimizing product quality and manufacturing costs.
As a professional OEM/ODM eyewear manufacturer, we provide an in-depth breakdown of these three dominant sunglass lens materials.