Essilor announces first-ever eco-friendly eyewear

Back to school is an important time for families and eyesight, as many schools require eye exams and teachers notice vision needs through classroom activities. With the start of a new school year, it's also a chance for families to kick start a new routine to support the environment and establish every day green habits. With this in mind, today Essilor announced the first-ever eco-friendly eyewear - Airwear(R) lenses are now manufactured using environmentally-conscious practices, including 100 percent recycled water and packaging, and the added process of re-purposing unused materials for other industries.

Green living expert and mother of three, Beth Aldrich, says choosing eco-friendly eyewear is another teachable moment to help instill eco-friendly practices with your children.

"I encourage families to try little things to make a difference everyday, and to look for products that work for them and the environment," says Aldrich. "How you treat yourself, your family and your home all add up to how we collectively take care of our planet - even eye glasses count." Aldrich says there are many simple ways families can be more environmentally conscious this school year:

• Create a Carpool and Spare the Air: Team up with neighbors to cut down on carbon emissions, or consider purchasing a hybrid car. School pick-up lines love hybrids because they can come to a complete stop when waiting in traffic, recharging the batteries every time you hit the brakes. The combination of a small gasoline engine with a battery-powered electric motor doubles the mileage of conventional cars and reduces the more than 97 million billion pounds of carbon dioxide released into the air from fossil fuels each year.
• See Green to Live Green: Help your child be at the head of the class with new "green" Essilor Junior(TM) lenses made specifically for young eyes. Now manufactured using 100 percent recycled water and packaged in 100 percent recyclable cardboard, the lenses are greener than ever before. Plus, for every five pairs of Essilor Junior lenses sold, one pair is donated to the Essilor Vision Foundation for its work to improve the lives of children across the country through better vision.
• Swap-Out For Greener Staples: Try to buy local, fair trade and organic foods when you can, since most food has to travel more than 1,200 miles to land on your grocery store shelf. Look for plant-based household products to cut back on chemicals in your home. And, in general, buy from companies that use environmentally aware practices.
• Reduce, Reuse and Recycle: Kids learn this mantra from the first day of school. Cutting down on waste can save 1,600 pounds of garbage a year. Clean out the clutter by recycling old school papers and giving away outgrown clothes. Before going shopping for new school supplies, take inventory and identify what can be reused so you only replace what you really need.

Lighter. Safer. Greener Contest Helps Families See a Greener World

Aldrich and Airwear invite other environmentally-conscious consumers to share their visions of a greener world by entering the "Lighter.Safer.Greener." contest, which launches October 1. Families can submit creative ideas for how they are making the world a greener, more sustainable place for a chance to win Airwear eyewear for their entire family. Enter the contest at www.LighterSaferGreener.com where you can learn more about Airwear's new eco-friendly practices, and view more of Aldrich's tips to live healthy, well and wise this school year.