NEWS

  • The Italian eyewear market and future

    ANFAO – the Italian Optical Goods Manufacturers’ Association – held on July 14 its General Meeting at Palazzo Flangini, to discuss shared objectives and future initiatives. Market figures were also presented and showed a decline of 6.1% compared with the first quarter of 2025. By far the sharpest decline was seen for U.S. exports.

  • TVC releases new research on sunglasses non-wearers

    The Vision Council released Focused inSights: Beyond UV Awareness, a new research report examining why 37% of U.S. adults, approximately 82 million people, do not wear sunglasses despite routine outdoor exposure and widespread familiarity with UV-related eye health risks.

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ISSUE 04/2026

Overview

Special: Eyewear Worldwide: Five facts about eyeglasses around the world // GoodVision: “The world would be a good deal fairer and better” // Transitions: Breaking out of the niche // Live on Site: DigiCON 2026: Schneider explores the future of autonomous manufacturing // Technology: Empowering labs // Interview: Oculomics: “Eye health is general health” // Business: The customer is not a data point // Survey: Spin hard coating // Dip hard coating

FEATURED ARTICLES

  • Transitions: Breaking out of the niche

    Over the past years, Transitions Optical has undergone a significant product and brand evolution. Over the course of five years, the company produced approximately 450 prototypes and conducted more than 100,000 tests to lay a solid foundation for the next generation of Transitions lenses. Today, they come in many vibrant colors and even with dynamic polarization. This required not just a manufacturing facility, but an innovation center – which MAFO visited in Ireland.

  • Empowering labs

    Until recently, block-less free-form lens production was widely perceived as a technology reserved for innovators – an advanced but not yet universally trusted alternative to traditional alloy-based processes. However, as recently pointed out by several market players, 2026 marks a decisive turning point. Will the future of lens production be block-free?

  • Oculomics: “Eye health is general health”

    The eye as a gateway to overall health, and AI as an assistive technology: in this interview with MAFO, Dr. Norbert Gorny, Chief Scientific Officer at EssilorLuxottica, shares his perspective on where optometry and eye care are headed and about the opportunities and limitations of Oculomics.

  • The customer is not a data point

    A sales manager recently said, “Our people are much faster these days. But I am not sure if they are also better listeners.” There is a lot of talk in sales right now about AI – about conversation summaries, chatbots, quote templates, automated follow-up emails, and systems that assess how promising a lead is. Much of this saves time, and some processes do actually improve as a result. But a customer should not be reduced to just a case number in the process.

  • DigiCON 2026

    In June, machine manufacturer Schneider Optical Machines hosted its well-known in-house trade show, DigiCON. In addition to showcasing innovations, the machine manufacturer also provided answers to important questions – such as whether Schneider is embracing the blockless trend or how realistic fully autonomous “lights-off” production is for the future.

  • GoodVision: “The world would be a good deal fairer and better”

    To this day, people – especially in the Global South – still lack access to even the most basic vision aids, eye exams, and more. One organization working to address this problem is GoodVision. MAFO has spoken with founder Martin Aufmuth about why basic care is still lacking and how this affects education and social participation.

NEWS