5 minute read
Style spotlight
by Vision Now
Evolutionary gains to save the planet
By Joan Grady
Sustainability is at the forefront of global initiatives – as the world becomes more aware of the process to understand the limits of natural, physical and social resources so that future generations can thrive. As climate change takes a toll on our oceans and lands, plus social and economic issues, companies are rising to the occasion to ensure ecological integrity.
The eyewear sector is among those who have rallied and understand the need to incorporate sustainable practises into their daily work that benefit employees, customers and the environment. From frames to contact lenses, cases to shipping and new methods of production, the industry has embraced the need to conserve and align future projects to natural resources.
INNOVATIVE GREEN PROGRAMMES As awareness grows about the devastating impact of our way of life on the climate and environmental habitats, inventive concepts are being researched and discovered. CooperVision has launched a partnership with Plastic Bank, a social enterprise that builds ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities, that includes Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines and Egypt. Now, all CooperVision’s one-day contact lenses distributed in the UK and Ireland are plastic neutral.
Doug Bairner, CooperVision country manager for the UK and Ireland, says: “Like many companies, CooperVision is on a sustainability journey. The commitment to making all of our one-day lenses in the UK and Ireland plastic neutral is an innovative addition in CooperVision’s holistic approach to sustainability, with the opportunity to make a positive impact for our oceans, and for everyone.
“Plastic neutrality is not an endpoint; it is another milestone in CooperVision’s journey to continuing to make a positive impact on the environment, and we look forward to partnering with eyecare practitioners and wearers to make it happen. By simply fitting and wearing CooperVision oneday contact lenses, it’s easy to make a difference – together,” adds Bairner. Plastic Bank founder and CEO, David Katz, notes: “Together with CooperVision, we’re offering the eyecare industry the opportunity to make a meaningful environmental, social and economic impact.”
VISIONARY PROJECTIONS When Hans Stepper created Stepper Eyewear in the 1970s, sustainability was not a global priority. However, the founder incorporated an injection moulding process for plastic frames that used less than five per cent of the input material compared to equivalent acetate frames.
Alex Davis, Stepper head of brands and marketing, explains more: “Our frames have never been assigned a collection or season within a year, removing any built-in obsolescence. As a result, today there are some frames that have remained in manufacture for almost 20 years. In
Sustainable Stepper design, SI-30170
the 1970s, this approach was referred to as ‘efficiency’. In the 2020s, the need to reduce our ecological footprint has become a significant factor in consumer behaviour: no business can or wants to ignore this.
“Stepper Eyewear takes a realistic and honest approach to sustainability," continues Davis. "Manufacturing processes are constantly being scrutinised for improved efficiencies to reduce impact
Hemp frames for men utilising 100 per cent green spirulina dye
Eco-friendly Stepper styles
on the environment. Reducing water and energy consumption – as well as reducing and recycling waste materials – are targeted every year. Green initiatives are an expectation of the modern consumer, and at Stepper the work is ongoing.”
Continental Eyewear, part of the Millmead Optical Group, has launched a stunning collection of eco eyewear frames crafted from recycled plastic bottles (rPET). The Cameo Sustain collection offers an ecofriendly solution in all areas – from the frames to the cases and packaging, even to the point-of-sale materials.
Each Cameo Sustain frame comes in a biodegradable poly bag made from a revolutionary biodegradable plastic that can be naturally broken down into carbon dioxide and biomass. Biodegradable demonstration lenses are used in the frames, which easily break down in landfill.
Botanical inspired designs by Edinburgh brand, Hemp, originated when founder Sam Whitten began researching industrial hemp in 2014, and he tested hemp oils and fibres whilst still in university. “I began researching natural materials after reading about plastic waste found in the ocean,” Whitten recalls, “and after graduation raised funds to make prototypes. Now we are also making frames using superfoods, including tumeric, beetroot, blue and green spirulina. "The next collection will involve a combination of our hemp technology and recycled tartan fabric from kilt makers in Scotland," Witten enthuses. "We choose frame colours based on the best performing natural dyes that work with our process. But in general we can make almost any colour now, so we are taking customised orders from opticians.”
Sustainable Osprey cases from Continental Eyewear
New Cameo Sustain Waterfall from Continental Eyewear
INVENTIVENESS AND INGENUITY “The appetite to create new products is infinite," declares Emily Andrews, Eyespace product director, “but we are acutely aware that the planet’s resources aren’t. We, as business owners and individuals, have a responsibility to set examples on how sustainability measures and technical innovation should be embedded deeply within business values to reduce the impact on the planet, and preserve its resources for future generations.”
Eyespace executives were shocked to discover that the UK generates more than five million tonnes of plastic waste a year, and it prompted conversations across the business as to how it could lead the change to move both Eyespace and the optical industry forward to a more sustainable future.
Andrews continues: “Globally, it is
Styles Juniper and Larch from the Eyespace Eco Conscious collection
estimated that consumption of frame bags alone is more than one billion per year, which often ends up being sent to landfill taking hundreds of years to break down. Eyespace is amongst the first suppliers worldwide to roll out the exclusive use of biodegradable frame bags across all our products, which means if they are not reused, they can go to landfill and will biodegrade in under five years.”
The award-winning British label launched its first sustainable eyewear with the Eco Conscious collection in 2020. “The optical frames are composed of a completely biodegradable and renewable cotton-based bio-acetate, which utilises naturally derived plasticisers,” confirms Andrews.
The developing awareness of the urgency and importance of protecting the planet is an ideal opportunity for independent opticians to present to their clients the innovative, stylish, sustainable designs and colours that are available in both optical frames and sunglasses. Not only does it provide the customer with sleek, attractive frames, it is a positive advance towards a better future that helps to protect our beautiful, fragile planet. ■
