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In January, CooperVision announced that all its one-day contact lenses distributed in the UK and Ireland were now plastic neutral, thanks to a partnership with social enterprise, Plastic Bank1,2. The plastic neutrality initiative means that for every box of CooperVision one-day contact lenses distributed in the UK and Ireland, CooperVision purchases credits that fund the collection, processing and reuse of general plastic waste that is equal to the weight of the plastic used in its one-day contact lenses, the blister and the outer carton packaging2 .

HOW THE INITIATIVE HELPS OUR OCEANS Through its global partnership with Plastic Bank, CooperVision is helping to stop plastic reaching oceans through Plastic Bank collector communities in Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines and Egypt (Figure 1). Plastic Bank carefully builds ethical recycling ecosystems in these underserved locations, and the plastic collected is reprocessed for reintroduction into the global manufacturing supply chain as Social Plastic.

As well as stopping ocean-bound plastic, partnering with Plastic Bank empowers these communities, with collectors receiving a premium for the materials they gather. This helps them provide basic family necessities such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition and health insurance (Figure 2).

“Plastic Bank is empowering the regenerative society while improving the lives of collector communities. Together with CooperVision, we’re offering the eye care industry the opportunity to make meaningful environmental, social and economic impact," says David Katz, founder and CEO of Plastic Bank.

WHY GO PLASTIC NEUTRAL? Plastic plays a critical role in the hygienic delivery and sterile protection of CooperVision's contact lenses. Because contact lenses are classed as medical devices and, by law, must have CE, UKCA or CE UKNI marking to be sold in the UK or Ireland, virgin plastic is needed during the manufacture of contact lens products in order to comply with medical device protocols.

Although contact lens waste is small compared to all household waste3, as part of its sustainability journey CooperVision recognised that how that plastic is managed is important. “Plastic is really important in keeping the manufacture of our contact lenses hygienic and safe. But we have to balance that with sustainability," explains Doug Bairner, CooperVision country manager for the UK and Ireland (Figure 3).

WIDER SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY Sustainability refers to something’s ability to maintain or ‘sustain’ itself over time, namely meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. CooperVision is committed to minimising its environmental impact and operating more sustainably in the many places it does business around the world. CooperVision is prioritising environmentallyresponsible practices across four key areas: water, energy, recycling and people.

Initiatives to reduce overall water usage, re-purpose rainwater and reuse water in manufacturing processes has saved millions of gallons of water globally each year. To improve energy efficiency, 100 per cent renewable energy has been introduced at CooperVision’s Mountpark site in the UK, and there is an ongoing commitment to use clean energy sources wherever possible. Waste of all kinds is minimised and on average more than 95 per cent of the materials in CooperVision’s production processes are recycled – including cardboard, wood, paper and oil4 .

As well as supporting underserved communities through its Plastic Bank

(Figure 1) A Plastic Bank collector on the beach

(Figure 2) Empowering collectors to provide basic family necessities

partnership, CooperVision empowers and supports its employees to make environmentally conscious choices through lower emission travel initiatives, and education about plastic use in their own homes. Doug says: “The latest climate science reports make it really clear that we have to take action in this decade to help manage climate change. We can all play our part by making changes to our lifestyles as individuals, but also in how we run our company here in the UK, Ireland and globally."

WHAT CAN THE INDUSTRY DO? For the industry, there are opportunities to focus on how resources like energy, water, paper and plastics are used more efficiently to protect the planet. Industry bodies came together in October 2021 to increase awareness of and engagement with social, ethical and environmental (SEE) issues within the optical sector. The Association of British Dispensing Opticians' (ABDO) SEE Summit on the Environment launched the Association's #ThinkingGreen campaign with a view to raising awareness of how eyecare practitioners, optical practices and the industry can work in a more sustainable way5 .

Supported by the Association of Optometrists, the British Contact Lens Association, the College of Optometrists, the General Optical Council and the Optical Suppliers Association, the inaugural SEE Summit helped to facilitate conversations around goal-setting for the industry and provided an opportunity to share best practices.

CONTACT LENS WEARERS CARE TOO And it’s not just CooperVision as a manufacturer that cares about how plastic is managed. As well as acting on the company’s own desire to make a positive impact on the environment, CooperVision also took into consideration the fact that sustainability is a growing priority for its wearers, when embarking on its plastic neutral initiative.

In a 2021 survey commissioned by CooperVision, 85 per cent of contact lens wearers agreed that keeping plastic out of the oceans is important to them6 . In addition, 93 per cent of contact lens wearers reported that they would choose a plastic neutral contact lens over a comparable non-plastic neutral lens, assuming both were recommended by their eyecare professional7 .

WE CAN ALL PLAY OUR PART Eyecare professionals and wearers can take part in the plastic neutrality initiative by simply prescribing or wearing any CooperVision one-day contact lens distributed in the UK and Ireland. There is no enrolment or registration required and it doesn’t cost eyecare professionals or wearers anything. The plastic neutral initiative was launched in the UK in January with its distinctive turtle emblem (Figure 4).

All of CooperVision's one-day contact lenses distributed in the UK and Ireland are now part of the plastic neutral initiative, including brand, house brand and private label versions of: MyDay, Clariti 1 day, MiSight 1 day, Live, Proclear 1 day, and Biomedics 1 day.

Prescribing or wearing CooperVision’s plastic neutral contact lenses stops ocean plastic and helps to improve access to employment, education, services, and technology for developing communities across the globe8 .

(Figure 3) Doug Bairner heralds the new plastic neutral initiative

(Figure 4) Plastic neutral initiative emblem

Further information about CooperVision UK and plastic neutrality can be found at https://coopervision.co.uk/about-us/ coopervision-sustainability/plasticneutrality ■

REFERENCES

1. One-day contact lenses are defined as orders placed by customers for those products and includes product sold and distributed by CooperVision in the UK and Ireland. 2. Plastic neutrality is established by purchasing credits from Plastic Bank. A credit represents the collection and conversion of one kilogram of plastic that may reach or be destined for waterways. CooperVision purchases credits equal to the weight of plastic in our-one day contact lens orders in a specified time period. One-day contact lens plastic is determined by the weight of plastic in the blister, the lens and the secondary package (outer carton), including laminates, adhesives, and auxiliary inputs (e.g. ink). 3. Smith SL, Orsborn GN, Sulley A, Chatterjee NB, Morgan PB. An investigation into disposal and recycling options for daily disposable and monthly replacement soft contact lens modalities. Contact Lens & Anterior Eye 2021 March 12;101435. doi. org/10.1016/j.clae.2021.03.002 4. As of Q1 FY 2018. 5. Source: www.abdo.org.uk/dashboard/see-hub 6. CooperVision data on file 2021. Plastic Neutrality Survey, 200 eyecare professionals and 1,500 consumers aged 16-65 years. 7. CooperVision data on file 2021. Plastic Neutrality Survey, 300 UK consumers aged 16-65 years. 8. Source: https://plasticbank.com