Glasses greener

The dispensing optician and practice director told OT that if people feel that sustainability needs to be a “huge sacrifice for the greater good” then it can be difficult to maintain enthusiasm and momentum.

“If sustainability just becomes part of your everyday decisions, then it becomes part of your routine business management,” Bill reflected.

The Exeter branch of Bill Opticians has solar panels on the roof, which generates all of the practice’s electricity needs during the summer months.

All practices have recycling bins that enable both contact lenses and spectacles to be broken down and repurposed.

James Bill

James Bill, dispensing optician and practice director at Bill Opticians

Bill highlighted that his interest in sustainability was not prompted by one specific event.

“It has really been a gradual evolution. It has become clear over the years, that from individuals all the way through to governments, everyone needs to play their part,” he emphasised.

The difference a frame makes

The focus on sustainability at Bill Opticians is also evident through the eyewear brands that the practices stock – from the Bird Eyewear’s plant-based frames to Sea2See’s spectacles made from recycled marine plastic.

Bill reflected that the sustainable eyewear brands that his practices stock are an illustration of the power of incremental action.

Many sustainable brands have helpful marketing assets that can be useful commercially, Bill added.

“Interesting, feel-good stories can improve both the number and quality of your spectacles sales and possibly can even encourage an entirely new group patients,” he observed.

Meeting customer demand

Bill observed that many patients are now looking for businesses that stock sustainable products and consider the environment in their business model.

As long as other basic criteria are met – for example around aesthetic and comfort – Bill has noticed that customers often prefer an environmentally-friendly product.

“There is definitely a hard-core of patients who are now looking for these products and we would be foolish not to cater for them,” he said.

Looking to the future, Bill hopes that technological innovation will result in a more sustainable industry.

“It is probably not too hard to believe that soon most of our frames will be manufactured in a more environmentally friendly way. Hopefully as time progresses many of our utility suppliers will improve their eco-credentials,” he said.