You couldn’t move around the recent 100% Optical trade show without noticing an exhibitor talking about sustainability. With such voluminous noise about becoming more eco-friendly, it’s inevitable that there’s going to be some ‘greenwashing’ at play.
But what is greenwashing and how can it be avoided? The term refers to when a company or brand gives a false impression of a given product or service’s sustainable credentials. Can it be avoided? In all honesty, I don’t think it can. Not yet, at least.
The optical industry is taking steps towards improvement, but we’re talking baby steps rather than strides here despite the best intentions of the many newly appointed sustainability officers around the world. But baby steps are OK, because sustainability is a relatively new concept to pretty much every corner of the industry and there’s a lot to improve on.
However, there’s a difference between being at the start of a journey of trying to make a difference and spinning falsehoods and empty gestures to get ahead of the pack.
How will you find out what’s greenwashing and what isn’t? Certification is a good place to start, but widespread transparency among manufacturers is a long way off and even in the certification business, there are companies out there to make quick money. I have spoken to several eyewear producers that have turned down green audit offers because the accreditation isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on – and that’s before the astronomical costs.
For the time being, you’ll be able to rely on Optician to be an indicator of how the industry is evolving with sustainability, and highlighting the intricate complexities involved with going green because there are plenty of them. For example, I recently learned that 3D printed eyewear created using powder derived from castor beans uses more energy in the manufacturing process than regular polyamide powder because it has a higher melting point temperature. The castor bean frames are still better for the environment as they come from a sustainable source, but it’s closer than brands would have people imagine.