Analysis of attitudes of contact lens practitioners towards sustainability and plastic use with contact lenses

Purpose. Sustainability is relevant in all areas of daily life. As the production of new plastic for contact lenses is currently unavoidable, various manufacturers have taken different actions to become more environmentally friendly. The study aims to determine the opinion of contact lens practitioners in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) on these actions and their level of knowledge on the disposal of contact lenses.

Material and Methods. A prospective online survey was conducted. 82 people, 31 female and 51 male, aged 49 ± 11.5 years, took part in the survey. The participants were recruited via the e-mail distribution list of the company CooperVision GmbH and the Vereinigung Deutscher Contactlinsen-Spezialistenund Optometristen (VDCO).

Results. 37 % of all participants knew how to recycle contact lenses, blister packs and the packaging correctly. 44 % of the contact lens practitioners provide consumers with information on the correct disposal of contact lenses. At 81 %, the majority of participants consider the sustainability of contact lenses to be important or very important. For 68 %, this is just as important as sustainability in everyday life. The majority of participants (67 %) are not aware of plastic-neutral contact lenses as a concept used by contact lens manufacturers and are therefore not communicated to consumers. However, most participants (72 %) who are familiar with sustainability activities by manufacturers have a positive attitude towards them.

Conclusion. Due to the relatively small number of participants, only trends can be identified from the survey. It is clear that the issue of sustainability and plastic consumption is being addressed by the contact lens industry through appropriate activities and is also considered important by contact lens practitioners. Better education about the possibilities for sustainable activities in the contact lens industry and more transparent knowledge about disposal of contact lenses can contribute to an increase in environmental sensitivity with contact lenses.