CooperVision’s plastic-neutral initiative, launched in the US 18 months ago and in Australia and New Zealand in the middle of 2022, has prevented the equivalent of more than 100 million plastic bottles from entering the world’s oceans.

In the first move of its type, CooperVision partnered with Plastic Bank, a Vancouver-based social enterprise that builds ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities, to fund Plastic Bank’s collection, processing and reuse of general ocean-bound plastic waste, equivalent to the weight of plastic used in CooperVision’s one-day contact lenses and packaging. As well as the positive environmental impact, the initiative also benefits people in more than 350 coastal communities who receive payments from Plastic Bank for the collections, for necessities such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition and health insurance.

“We couldn’t be more thankful to everyone who has helped this programme become an absolute success,” 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.”