April 23, 2020 — Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, many companies in the industry and beyond are sharing their efforts to help eyecare professionals, and the public, weather these turbulent times.

Here, we share a roundup of some recent initiatives:

• ClearVision Optical (CVO) and Revo have partnered to launch an affiliate program designed to create revenue opportunities for ECPs during the Covid-19 pandemic. The pilot program will give ECPs the ability to sell Revo sunwear directly to their customers with a special discount offer, while their business may be temporarily closed. For each purchase made (on revo.com), an ECP will receive a revenue share from their patient’s online purchase in the form of a credit on their next CVO invoice. For more info, contact CVO at 800-645-3733. 

• EssilorLuxottica shared its steps to preserve cash and support employees amid Covid-19. The company announced it is fully equipped to meet the pent-up demand for Rx purchases, which are likely to materialize when the economy stabilizes. Additionally, the Board of Directors decided not to submit any dividend distribution to the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of June 25, 2020. The Board of Directors also voted to reduce or defer parts of its managers’ compensations, voting to apply the measure to its own members by reducing their attendance fees by 50%. Finally, the board approved the launch of a €1 million Covid-19 fund to protect the company’s human capital.

• Eye Deals Eyewear, supplier of Paws N Claws Eyewear, shared its efforts to #flattenthecurve by offering personal protective equipment (PPE), shown above, ready to ship from Pittsburgh, PA.

• In addition to its spectacle-mounted full face shield, Rochester Optical has launched a new full-coverage PPE face shield with a foam headband.

• Safilo has launched #united4eyecare, a global corporate initiative encompassing the company’s action in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including the repurposing of a portion of its manufacturing to produce safety glasses and facial shields in Italy, Polaroid’s donation of medical protection masks in Spain, Smith’s partnership with Goggles for Docs and Blenders Eyewear’s announcement of repurposing a portion of its manufacturing to make safety goggles—both in the U.S.

• In addition to its recent partnership with Goggles for Docs, Smith has partnered with Yeti Cycles and Black Diamond to make PPE face shields for health care workers and first responders. The brand from Safilo has provided 4,000 yards of goggle strap material to support the efforts initiated by Yeti. 

• Following its focus on manufacturing and delivering protective eyewear to organizations in need, Swiss Eyewear Group has shared that its INVU protective eyewear is available to opticians and the public.

• “Due to Covid-19, many practices remain closed or open only for essential eye care, and access to live CE training opportunities is limited with many industry events being postponed or canceled,” says  Michelle Skinner, VSP Global chief network officer. “We have accelerated new education and training opportunities, including a COPE-approved CE series eligible for live CE credits for doctors to take advantage of remotely at no cost during this challenging time.” Registration is open for various dates through May 5.