Credit: Plastic Bank

Committed to creating a more sustainable future, Alcon is the latest contact lens company to partner with Plastic Bank, a social enterprise whose mission is to clean up the world’s oceans and waterways.

Together, Alcon and Plastic Bank will run a programme to offset every ton of plastic used to make Alcon Precision 1 and Dailies Total 1 contact lenses and their packaging by the removal of a ton of ocean-bound plastic waste from vulnerable coastal communities. “Our planet is worth seeing, so at Alcon we want to create a sustainable future where the lives of the people and communities we serve are both better and brighter,” said Rich Oliver, franchise head of Alcon Vision Care, Australia and New Zealand. “We already use recyclable plastic and cardboard in our contact lens packaging. Now this partnership with Plastic Bank will help us do even more to improve our plastic impact while continuing to help people see brilliantly all over the world.”

The partnership will run in nearly 70 countries across Europe, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand. Combined with the proper disposal of contact lenses by consumers, this initiative is one part of the solution to reduce plastic impact, said Oliver. “While offsetting isn’t the only sustainability solution for vision care, there is widespread agreement that it offers an effective way for manufacturers to improve their plastic impact immediately, while investigating long-term solutions.”

Toric CLs arrive!

In other news, Alcon has launched Dailies Total 1 for Astigmatism, the first and only water gradient contact lens for patients with astigmatism; plus Precision 1 for Astigmatism, a daily disposable, silicone hydrogel (SiHy) contact lens designed for astigmatic patients, extending the company’s portfolio of premium, daily disposable lenses.

According to Alcon, toric contact lenses are the fastest growing category in the contact lens market, with an estimated 32% of contact lens wearers having astigmatism, but only 10% wearing toric lenses. “We know that significantly more contact lens patients with astigmatism suffer from higher dropout rates, dry eye and discomfort than spherical patients, with many of them not wearing toric options at all,” said Oliver. “With less than half the choice for astigmats compared to spherical lenses, we believe this launch is a major opportunity for optometrists to fit more astigmats with appropriate lenses.”

The water gradient technology used in Total 1 for Astigmatism gradually increases the lens’ water content, approaching 100% water at the surface, while Precision 1 for Astigmatism offers Alcon’s Smartsurface technology, including a permanent micro-thin layer of moisture that increases from 51% water at the core to greater than 80% water at the outer surface, said the company.