Bigger than bottles
Making a meaningful, measurable difference through plastic neutrality
Plastic is an essential material we all rely on in our daily lives. How plastic is made, and how it is disposed of can impact our environment. Every year, an estimated total eight million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean—that’s equivalent to a garbage truck of plastic every minute.1
Since 2021, we have partnered with Plastic Bank to offset a portion of our plastic footprint by tackling ocean-bound plastic waste in hundreds of coastal communities where plastic pollution and poverty rates are at an all-time high.2-4 By teaming up with Plastic Bank, we’re able to not only take strides to address plastic’s disposal but we’re also able to help address socioeconomic disparities in these communities– helping to better the world around us and empowering a brighter future for People + Planet. 2,5-7
More than a milestone
Through our partnership with Plastic Bank, we fund the collection and recycling of ocean-bound plastic equivalent to the weight of plastic used across our range of participating soft contact lenses, including the lens, blister and packaging components, that are sold and distributed across 27 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.*2
To date, this partnership has prevented the equivalent of hundreds of millions of plastic bottles from entering the world’s oceans.†4 The collected plastic is then recycled and processed, reborn as Social Plastic® feedstock, which is turned into new products and packaging – reducing the need for virgin plastic, enabling a circular economy for plastic, and making a lasting environmental, social, and economic impact.8
But our true measure of impact is more than the plastic we offset—our plastic neutrality initiative benefits and improves the livelihoods of thousands of collection members in hundreds of communities.2,4
Improving lives
Plastic Bank collectors in these coastal communities collect ocean-bound plastic waste and exchange it for credits which they can use to purchase goods and services, including health, work and life insurance, digital connectivity, grocery vouchers, school supplies, and more.3 For example, 14 annual supplies of CooperVision's 1 day plastic neutral contact lenses‡ are the equivalent of at least 10 kilograms of collected plastic.2 In Indonesia in 2023, this funds on average, one of the following:9
- One day’s worth of groceries for a collection member and their family
- The payment of 15 days’ worth of a domestic electric bill
- 15 days’ worth of internet data, a critical source for learning and education for children
Vision Care Program
Furthermore, Plastic Bank has established a vision care program to provide vision screenings and vouchers for complimentary eye examinations and glasses for eligible Plastic Bank collection members.9 The positive impact of improved vision has been linked to helping reduce poverty, support economic opportunities, and improve educational outcomes.10
Today. Tomorrow. Together.
We are the first contact lens manufacturer to track and offset the plastic impact of each one-day box sold and distributed..11 By simply prescribing and wearing plastic neutral contact lenses, our eye care professionals and wearers are helping us in our commitment to sustainability as we strive to transform and improve the well-being of People + Planet.2
Learn more about the real impact of our partnership with Plastic Bank and how it makes a meaningful and measurable difference in communities like Bali.
As we work to offset waste from our products and packaging that cannot yet be reclaimed,*2 innovators like Carol Herring have a pivotal impact.
A brighter tomorrow starts with all of us, today.
* Plastic used in participating CooperVision soft contact lens products is determined by the weight of plastic in the blister, the lens, and the secondary package, including laminates, adhesives, and auxiliary inputs (e.g. ink). The determination does not include plastic used during the manufacturing process for both these products and their packaging.
† CooperVision, through its collaboration with Plastic Bank, has collected and converted approximately 5.3M kg of plastic destined for waterways as of January 2024. Using Plastic Bank's metric of 1kg of plastic equaling 50 standard 202mm bottles, that will be the equivalent of approximately 263.7M plastic bottles not reaching our oceans.
‡ An annual supply of CooperVision 1 Day contact lenses is defined as 720 contact lenses expressed as the equivalent of eight 90-day packs, four packs each for the right and left eyes.
References::
1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2020, https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/united-states-contributions-to-global-ocean-plastic-waste.
2. CVI data on file, 2024.
3. Plastic Bank. https://plasticbank.com/what-is-plastic-bank-all-about-and-how-can-i-get-involved/. Accessed Jan 25th 2024.
4. CVI data on file as of 1/2024.
5. CVI data on file, 2023.
6. Plastic Bank. https://plasticbank.com/impact-programs/. Accessed Jan 25th 2024.
7. Plastic Bank. https://plasticbank.com/about/. Accessed Jan 25th 2024.
8. Plastic Bank. https://plasticbank.com/how-social-recycling-is-saving-the-ocean-and-improving-lives/. Accessed Jan 25th 2024.
9. Plastic Bank data on file, 2024.
10. Zhang et al. "Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals through improving eye health: a scoping review," The Lancet Planetary Health. March 2022. (6) 274 & 278.
11. CVI data on file, 2021, 2020-2020 Plastic Bank Contract Agreement.