By Gwendolyn Plummer
Wednesday, October 16, 2024 8:30 AM
MUNICH—Ahead of the 2025 show in Munich, Germany, opti organizers have announced two
sustainability awards: the second edition of the opti Sustainability Award and the new opti Sustainability Youngster Award. Each award is earmarked with €3,700 in prize money. “With two opti Sustainability Awards, opti is picking up on important industry developments and is now also promoting the next generation and their creative, unconventional ideas as a source of inspiration,” said Cathleen Kabashi, opti’s exhibition director.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Thursday, September 26, 2024 8:30 AM
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania—
Waste Free Oceans (WFO) and
Eco Eyewear have teamed up to launch a waste-catching barrier in the Feza River, a river located in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam. Alongside local partner The Recyclers, the two companies installed a barrier that will capture plastic waste that would otherwise end up in the Indian Ocean. This captured waste will then be collected, recycled and repurposed, with some of it being transformed into eco-friendly products.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Wednesday, September 11, 2024 8:30 AM
LONGARONE and MILAN, Italy—
Marcolin has joined the
United Nations Global Compact, a global pact launched in 2000 with the aim of mobilizing businesses to align their strategies and operations with the UN’s Ten Universal Principles on human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. The pact also aims at achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Marcolin joins more than 20,000 other companies and 2,500 non-business signatories from 167 countries around the world, including more than 500 in Italy, where Marcolin is based.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Wednesday, August 28, 2024 8:30 AM
AMSTERDAM and NEW YORK—For entrepreneurs establishing new eyewear companies in today’s landscape, there’s no question that sustainability is a non-negotiable. Thankfully, there are almost infinite ways to approach sustainability in eyewear design and production—and for
EveryWear Eyewear, located in the Netherlands, collaborating with
Tech Print Industries (TPI) was the perfect solution. Ruben van Bodegom and Alain Schutter founded EveryWear Eyewear in 2020, with the goal of combining “their love of adventure with sustainability,” according to the
brand.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Thursday, August 15, 2024 8:30 AM
TURIN, Italy—Italian eyewear company
Vanni presented its second Impact Report this June, which details the projects the company completed in 2023, particularly in relation to the objectives laid out in its 2022 Società Benefit. In 2023, Vanni
stated it was “particularly committed to sustainability,” and one of the focuses of the year was conducting a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of its products. According to Vanni, the LCA is “an analytical and systematic methodology for the assessment of the environmental impacts of a product—or the amount of CO2 released—throughout its life cycle: from the extraction of raw materials all the way to its disposal.”
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Wednesday, July 31, 2024 8:30 AM
PENNSAUKEN, N.J.—This week,
Windsor Eyes, Inc. announced an exclusive partnership to distribute
Mita Sustainable Eyewear to U.S. based eyecare professionals. All Mita products are made from recycled water bottles, recycled aluminum and sustainable lenses, and the company has been B Corp Certified since January 2024. Mita’s commitment to sustainable materials goes beyond just frames, too. Packaging is also produced with recycled materials: one cleaning cloth is produced from one water bottle; one frame case is produced from two water bottles; one soft pouch is produced from two water bottles; and one frame is produced from five water bottles, according to the company.
By Staff
Thursday, July 18, 2024 8:30 AM
NEW YORK—Earlier this month,
Review of Ophthalmology shared an in-depth look at how pharmaceutical companies, surgeons and ophthalmology professionals are working toward a more sustainable industry. As Andrew Beers, associate editor,
writes, “Government and non-profit organizations have warned about the role the health care system plays in climate change. In 2020, the U.S. health care system attributed to 8.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions nationally, rising approximately 6 percent between 2010 and 2018. This was and continues to be impacted by hospital care, physician and clinical services and prescription drug usage in America. A large contingent of physicians and companies are calling for sustainability efforts to be enacted to ensure the health and well-being of patients, especially in ophthalmology."
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Thursday, June 27, 2024 8:30 AM
SAN RAMON, Calif.—
CooperVision announced in June that its manufacturing facility in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico, received top honors at the 15th annual Puerto Rico Sustainability Best Practices, Health and Safety Summit. The Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association (PRMA) recognized the site with six awards for its programs and practices relating to its sustainability, and occupational health and safety commitments, according to the announcement. The company was given the Platinum Recycling Award, which is presented to an organization that exemplifies best practice standards in alternate energy and sustainability by achieving greater than 90 percent recycling rates, as
reported in
VMAIL.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Wednesday, June 12, 2024 8:30 AM
CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—As
reported in
VMAIL earlier this week,
EssilorLuxottica announced its plans to create a large solar farm and a green area hosting sporting facilities and natural food crops on nearly 40 hectares of industrial land near Pescara, Italy. This land surrounds the site of Barberini, a world-class optical glass lens manufacturer and part of EssilorLuxottica. This recovery and reconversion project will produce renewable energy along with natural food crops for the corporate staff restaurants, all with a sustainable and circular approach.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Thursday, May 23, 2024 8:30 AM
NEW YORK—Earth Day has come and gone, but the year’s environmentally focused holidays are not totally behind us. June 5 marks World Environment Day, a United Nations international day that “celebrates environmental action and the power of governments, businesses and individuals to create a more sustainable world,” according to the official
World Environment Day website. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) leads the day; this year, Saudi Arabia hosts World Environment Day, focusing specifically on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience.
By Staff
Thursday, May 9, 2024 8:30 AM
RICHMOND, Va.—When Brian Spittle, OD, founder of The Eye Place, a multi-optometrist group practice located here, took a trip to Central America to learn more about contact lens manufacturing, he did not expect to return to the United States with a newfound look at sustainability in the industry. Dr. Spittle, who is also president of ECP Fastlane, a boutique consultancy, never thought that the trip would eventually lead to his practice becoming 99 percent solar powered. But sometimes the best changes come in the most unexpected ways.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Thursday, April 25, 2024 8:30 AM
NEW YORK—This week, billions around the world celebrated Earth Day. There are, of course, countless ways to celebrate our planet, from heading outside for some time in nature to dedicating yourself to pushing for legislative change that will protect our home. Big or small, every little action makes an important difference in keeping the earth as healthy as possible. For ECPs, Earth Day provides a great opportunity to discuss how we can keep sustainable practices at the forefront of our minds every day, through recycling programs, eco-conscious eyewear choices and so much more. This week, we take a look at how some ECPs celebrated.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 8:30 AM
NEW YORK—Monday’s solar eclipse was a once-in-20-years natural phenomenon that left millions of Americans with a sense of wonder and excitement—and with a pair of eclipse glasses that they have no idea what to do with. With two decades to go until the next major eclipse here in North America, holding onto the protective glasses might not make sense (though, as
USA Today reports, modern eclipse glasses don’t expire, according to the American Astronomical Society), but, thankfully, there are a few ways to recycle or repurpose eclipse glasses that are both sustainably-minded and helpful to others.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Thursday, March 28, 2024 8:30 AM
NEW YORK—There is less than a month to go until Earth Day, April 22, giving us all plenty of time to prepare for the holiday. This year, the official
Earth Day theme is “Planet vs. Plastics,” an initiative dedicated to demanding a 60 percent reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040. This goal is something the eyewear industry is already getting on board with, as more and more eyewear manufacturers switch to bio-acetates and other natural materials in place of traditional plastics.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Monday, March 11, 2024 8:30 AM
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—
The Vision Council released new research featuring key insights into U.S. consumers’ experiences and preferences when purchasing frames for new glasses. Findings from the report, “Focused inSights 2024 Frame Trends,” underscore the diversity in eyewear preferences and purchase behaviors, highlighting opportunities for the optical industry to tailor product offerings and marketing strategies to meet consumer preferences. Notably, the report showcased just how much consumers value sustainable products and practices.