Company Magnifies Impact of Landmark Sustainability Program as it Celebrates Milestone:
100 Million Plastic Bottles Prevented from Reaching Earth’s Oceans
SAN RAMON, CALIF., January 11, 2023—To further amplify the impact of its partnership with Plastic Bank®, CooperVision announced today the expansion of the trailblazing* net plastic neutrality† initiative to include its Biofinity® family and MiSight® 1 day contact lenses in the U.S., making its most popular contact lens brands net plastic neutral.1,2,± The company has also reached a significant milestone for the initiative: globally, the effort has prevented the equivalent of more than 100 million plastic bottles from entering the oceans.3‡҂§
In 2021, CooperVision pioneered the world’s first* net plastic neutral† contact lens with clariti® 1 day± in the U.S., and has continued to expand the scope of the global initiative.1 It funds Plastic Bank’s collection, processing and reuse of general ocean-bound plastic waste that is equal to the weight of the plastic contained in designated products in 27 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. In the U.S., this includes the clariti® 1 day, MyDay®, MiSight® 1 day, and Biofinity® brands.
“Over the past two years, thousands of eye care professionals and their patients have already contributed to this cause, simply by prescribing and wearing CooperVision 1-day contact lenses. Now, with the inclusion of Biofinity® and MiSight® 1 day, we are poised to make an even bigger difference,” said Michele Andrews, OD, Vice President, Professional & Government Affairs, Americas, CooperVision.
“We couldn’t be more thankful to everyone who has helped this program become an absolute success— the eye care professionals and wearers across the planet who share CooperVision’s sustainability commitment. Each plastic neutral contact lens that is prescribed and worn makes a difference,” said Aldo Zucaro, Senior Director, Corporate Responsibility, CooperCompanies. “Together, we’re making our oceans, our communities—and our future—better. We already have our sights set on the next 100 million.”
Beyond the positive impact on the environment, CooperVision’s plastic neutrality initiative benefits collection community members in more than 350 coastal communities who receive payments through Plastic Bank for necessities such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition, and health insurance.4
As a leading manufacturer of contact lenses, CooperVision is dedicated to reducing its environmental footprint, and its efforts extend beyond net plastic neutrality. The company has a strong track record of sustainable manufacturing and operations focused on areas in which it can make the greatest impact. CooperVision has developed best-in-class manufacturing processes resulting in award-winning conservation efforts in Puerto Rico and prestigious sustainability certifications in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S.5
*Based on top 4 global contact lens manufacturers.
†Net 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 clariti® 1 day, MyDay® daily disposable, Biofinity® and MiSight® 1 day orders in a specified time period. clariti® 1 day, MyDay® daily disposable, Biofinity® and MiSight® 1 day plastic 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).
±clariti® 1 day, MyDay® daily disposable, Biofinity® and MiSight® 1 day orders includes products sold and distributed by CooperVision in participating countries.
‡ Plastic Bank uses 1 kg of plastic to equal 50 bottles.
҂Net 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 waterway. CooperVision purchases credits equal to the weight of plastic in participating brand orders in a specified time period. Plastic in participating brand plastic 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).
§Participating brand orders is defined as orders and includes monthly, 2-weekly and 1-Day contact lens products sold and distributed by CooperVision.
# # #
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 www.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 roughly 14,000 with products sold in over 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.coopercos.com.
About Plastic Bank
Plastic Bank empowers the regenerative society. The social enterprise helps the world stop ocean plastic while improving the lives of collector communities. Plastic Bank builds ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities and reprocesses the materials for reintroduction into the global manufacturing supply chain. Collectors receive bonuses for the materials they collect, which helps them provide basic family necessities such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition, and health insurance. Plastic Bank's Alchemy™ blockchain platform secures the entire transaction and provides real-time data visualization – allowing for transparency, traceability, and rapid scalability. The collected material is reborn as Social Plastic®, which can be easily reintegrated into products and packaging as part of a closed-loop supply chain. Learn more at plasticbank.com.
Media Contact
Heather Kowalczyk, APR, McDougall Communications
heather@mcdougallpr.com or +1-585-330-4878
1 CVI data on file, 2022.
2 CVI data on file, 2022. US industry reports and internal estimates.
3 CVI data on file, 2022 for a complete list of participating brands by country. Total bottles as derived through Plastic Bank's impact dashboard through as of 11/16/2022.
4 CVI data on file, 2022. Total communities impacted through Plastic Bank's impact dashboard as of 12/31/2022. https://plasticbank.com/faq/ethical-collection-communities