US startup picks eyewear market as launch pad for infinitely recyclable plastic material
As the world is grappling with an ever-growing amount of plastic waste, of which less than 10 percent is being recycled, our attention was brought to a California-based chemical start-up that claims it can produce an infinitely recyclable alternative material to high performance plastics. And, somewhat surprisingly for such a ...
Study suggests readers could ease poverty
The American journal Plos One has published a study concluding that the “provision of reading glasses increases income in near vision-intensive occupations, and may facilitate return to work for those currently unemployed.”
Mazzucchelli takes further steps on sustainability journey
Mazzucchelli 1849 is building a new factory in its hometown of Castiglione Olona in northern Italy, set to be opened in the second half of this year. Giampietro Pedrazzini, CEO, spoke to us recently about how that facility fits into Mazzucchelli’s plans to reduce its environmental footprint, along with other ...
Italy’s ANFAO, Certottica launch sustainable eyewear certification
The Italian eyewear industry association ANFAO and Certottica, the optical-product certification body in which ANFAO is a shareholder, have launched the first international sustainable eyewear-certification program, to respond to growing demand for sustainable products and to underscore the progress already made by some industry players.
Karün Eyewear to get a Walmart boost
Karün Eyewear, the Chile-based brand of eyewear made from recycled and traceable materials, has signed a nationwide, but non-exclusive, partnership with Walmart for the distribution of its frames in the U.S. retail giant’s Walmart Vision Centers. ”We chose to work with Walmart as our U.S. national retailer to expand access ...
Silmo Paris adds CSR prize to events portfolio
The organizers of the Silmo trade show have announced the launch of a Responsible Company Prize, that will take place for the first time at the next edition of the show slated to take place at the usual fairgrounds in the north of Paris from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2. ...
Synsam frames production reshoring delivers 32% CO2 reduction (LCA)
In its annual sustainability report released a few weeks ago, leading Nordics retailer Synsam Group published an initial comparative life cycle analysis (LCA) between acetate frames produced in its newly opened Swedish factory and similar frames manufactured by its Asian suppliers.
Circularity gaining traction in the French eyewear market
Circularity in the eyewear sector has been a hot topic in the last couple of weeks in France as two major retail chains, and a young start up specializing in the recycling of used glasses, have announced new programs for second-hand eyewear.
A look at MIDO CSE Awards’ RoW winners
During the last edition of the Mido trade show last month, organizers premiered their Certified Sustainable Eyewear Awards (CSE) which were divided in two categories: Europe and the Rest of the World (RoW). As awards winners from Europe are better known to our readers – Neubau Eyewear, Marchon, Modo Eyewear ...
Environmental sustainability and the eye care industry
Ann Blackmore, a policy and regulatory consultant who has worked for over nine years in the optical sector, considers what concerns around environmental sustainability could mean for the eye care industry and outlines some of the drivers for change.
