Sustainable Product Development

The ability to reinvent itself and innovate are part of Luxottica’s story. A main asset of this constant quest to excellence is the gradual integration of sustainable product development criteria to contribute positively to the good of the Planet, to address social and environmental challenges.

This approach is the result of a holistic view of the product, which embraces all processes, from the design and manufacturing to its end of life, aiming to a circular economy approach that minimizes the impact on the environment, with a focus on increasing the eyewear excellence and quality.

The Group’s Roadmap pass through 4 Projects Routes for Products, to define them as Sustainable, coherently with our objective to minimize any environmental impact.

Research

It means looking for new materials to reduce the impact on the planet, new natural resources to limit petrol derived products with a target to avoid them. To do so, Luxottica is considering the following criteria:

• Availability of natural resources: the goal is to limit the environmental impact by focusing on solutions that do not damage the available sources
• Transformation impacts: processes more sustainable, with limited generation of CO2, maximization of the yield and efficiency, reduced usage of water
• Excellence and Quality of Products: new materials must maintain or improve the Group’s recognized product characteristics, aiming to set new higher quality standard

Innovative bio-based materials have been introduced into Luxottica’s portfolio of raw materials for all types of products, from frames to lenses, from packaging to POP materials, enabling the launch of specific collections. For instance, back in 2019, the first sustainable collection was launched under the Arnette brand and featured high-quality frames made of biobased injected plastic, making it noteworthy for its reduced impact on the environment. More recently, the brand’s eco-friendly approach has evolved into the Arnette Positive platform.

Recycle

Luxottica has also focused on new industrial solutions to reduce in-house scraps to limit the use of plastic as much as possible. Recycle is the way to limit introduction of new raw materials, and to avoid the disposal of materials.

The Company has launched a new in-house process in Italy to recycle and compound nylon plastic scraps derived from the injection manufacturing of frames into black raw nylon, which has been started to be used for the Emporio Armani collection “R-EA (Recycled Emporio Armani)”.

A big focus on transparency of the supply chain for the recycling initiative, highlighted by the increasing number of ISCC Plus Label certified plants in Luxottica’s production sites.

More will come, to express the intent of giving each scrap a second life, even enlarging the action to the main partners to design broader “close loop” recycling activities.

Reduce

A big effort in going back to the essential: removing all unnecessary parts and components. Limiting materials and simplifying the manufacture to obtain rich and qualitative designs, challenging easier disassembly.

Luxottica aims to identify technical solutions that allow maintaining the same quality and style with reduced overlayers. For instance, it collaborates with third parties’ partners to identify new solutions and to reduce the multiple glued layers of the eyewear cases.

 The Company is working to remove all unneeded and not functional materials, and to offer solutions that involve the final customer in the choice of what really needed, for example on clothes or cases for their eyewear.

In addition, the Company is focusing on “Easy to Disassemble Design”, not only for an easier responsible disposal of the products, but also to prepare the ground for re-collections and recycling of end of life products.

Re-Use

It means designing Products that can last more and can easily have second life, immortal items to limit disposal.

Luxottica is working on:

• Robust products to limit damages, easily upgradable and/or renewed to make the iconic products timeless.
• Accessories designed to last, such as eyewear cases, designed for multiple scopes.

The coexistence and individual contribution of these four paths make a step forward in our journey towards circular economy: sustainability and durability are now instilled in our mind and in all our production cycles.

For a better quality. For a better future.