Company Expands Partnership with PlasticBank® to Launch Innovative Initiative, Expanding Commitment to Sustainability
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, MAY 11, 2022—To provide an easy way for eye care professionals and their patients to be more sustainable in their business and lifestyle—CooperVision announced today that all its one-day contact lenses distributed in Australia and New Zealand are now plastic neutral.1,2 The initiative is made possible through a breakthrough global partnership with Plastic Bank, a social enterprise that builds ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities.
For every box of CooperVision one-day contact lenses distributed in Australia and New Zealand, CooperVision purchases credits that fund the collection and recycling of ocean-bound plastic into the global supply chain, that is equal to the weight of the plastic used in its one-day contact lenses, the blister and the outer carton packaging.2
Plastic Bank collectors in the coastal communities receive a premium for the materials they collect, which helps them provide basic family necessities such as groceries, cooking fuel, school fees, and health insurance.
“Like many companies, CooperVision is on a sustainability journey. Over the past several years, we have built a strong track record of sustainable manufacturing and operations, focused on areas in which we can make the greatest impact,” said Michelle North, General Manager ANZ at CooperVision. “Plastic plays a critical role in the hygienic delivery and sterile protection of our contact lenses, and how that plastic is managed is important to us. The commitment to making all of our one-day lenses in Australia and New Zealand plastic neutral1,2 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.”
“Our partnership is really about every eye care professional and consumer who wants to help create positive change,” said David Katz, Founder and CEO at Plastic Bank. “CooperVision and Plastic Bank are making it easier to improve the environment, creating a platform in which others can participate. That’s how and where change begins.”
Research shows that sustainability is a growing priority for consumers, and they care how plastic is managed. In a 2021 survey commissioned by CooperVision, 94% of contact lens wearers agreed that keeping plastic out of the oceans is important to them.3 And 99% of contact lens wearers agree that if their optometrist recommended a plastic neutral daily disposable contact lens, it would have a positive impact on trying that lens. 3
One year after CooperVision established the first plastic neutral contact lens in the USA though the trailblazing partnership with Plastic Bank, the program has already made a significant environmental and social impact worldwide:
- The equivalent of nearly 28 million plastic bottles have been prevented from polluting the oceans.
- 171 coastal communities have directly benefited from exchanging ocean-bound plastic for necessities such as clean water, groceries, cooking oil, school tuition, and even health insurance. i
CooperVision’s partnership with Plastic Bank, is currently the largest plastic neutrality initiative in the contact lens industry. Currently, 18 CooperVision subsidiaries in Europe and North America are participating with nine more in Asia, South America, and Europe slated to join this year. With this expanded scale, the program is expected to prevent the equivalent of nearly 90 million plastic bottles from reaching oceans in 2022 – more than three times the amount collected in 2021.
All CooperVision one-day contact lens brands in Australia and New Zealand are included in the plastic neutral initiative, including MyDay®, clariti® 1 day, MiSight® 1 day, Proclear® 1 day, and Biomedics® 1 day. There is no enrollment process for eye care professionals or consumers; anyone who recommends or wears the lenses is participating.All CooperVision one-day contact lens brands in Australia and New Zealand are included in the plastic neutral initiative, including MyDay®, clariti® 1 day, MiSight® 1 day, Proclear® 1 day, and Biomedics® 1 day. There is no enrollment process for eye care professionals or consumers; anyone who recommends or wears the lenses is participating.
CooperVision’s plastic neutrality initiative, while unprecedented, is one of many milestones in the organisation’s journey to ever-greater sustainability. The company envisions a world where plastics are responsibly used, recovered, and reborn in perpetuity – and is taking steps to get there.
“We are constantly striving to identify novel solutions that not only address key sustainability challenges but also create new opportunities,” said Dan McBride, Executive Vice President (EVP), Chief Operating Officer of CooperCompanies. “By reexamining our relationship with plastic, we can help protect the world’s oceans and transform waste into a resource.”
“There is no single approach that achieves sustainability, so we need to manage plastic use on many fronts,” McBride continued. “There is no finish line either, so we invite contact lens wearers and the rest of the eye care industry to join us.”
For more information about CooperVision’s plastic neutral initiative, visit www.coopervision.net.au/plasticneutral
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1 One-day contact lenses are defined as orders for those products and includes product sold and distributed by CooperVision in Australia and New Zealand.
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 CooperVision data on file, 2021. Plastic Neutrality Survey 302 consumers aged 16-65 years, Decision Analyst October 2021 in Australia
About Plastic Bank PlasticBank
PlasticBank® empowers the regenerative society. We build ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities and reprocess the materials for reintroduction into the global supply chain as Social Plastic®. Our members receive a premium for the materials they collect which helps them provide basic family necessities such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition, and health insurance. Our proprietary blockchain platform secures the entire transaction and provides real-time data visualisation – allowing for transparency, traceability, and rapid scalability. Learn more at https://plasticbank.com/.
About CooperVision
CooperVision, a division of CooperCompanies (NYSE:COO), is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of contact lenses. The company produces a full array of daily disposable, two-week and monthly soft contact lenses that feature advanced materials and optics, and premium rigid gas permeable lenses for orthokeratology and scleral designs. CooperVision has a strong heritage of addressing the toughest vision challenges such as astigmatism, presbyopia, childhood myopia, and highly irregular corneas; and offers the most complete portfolio of spherical, toric and multifocal products available. Through a combination of innovative products and focused practitioner support, the company brings a refreshing perspective to the marketplace, creating real advantages for customers and wearers. For more information, visit https://coopervision.com/.
About CooperCompanies
CooperCompanies ("Cooper") is a global medical device company publicly traded on the NYSE (NYSE:COO). Cooper operates through two business units, CooperVision and CooperSurgical. CooperVision brings a refreshing perspective on vision care with a commitment to developing a wide range of high-quality products for contact lens wearers and providing focused practitioner support. CooperSurgical is committed to advancing the health of women, babies and families with its diversified portfolio of products and services focusing on medical devices and fertility & genomics. Headquartered in San Ramon, Calif., Cooper has a workforce of more than 12,000 with products sold in over 100 countries. For more information, please visit https://www.coopercos.com/.
Media Contact
Shannon Morrow, Marketing Communications Manager, ANZ smorrow@au.coopervision.com or +61437866918