Who Owns Bausch + Lomb?

Bausch + Lomb operates the ONE by ONE Recycling Program, described as the first and only contact lens, eye care, and lens care recycling program in the United States. The program, run in partnership with TerraCycle, accepts used contact lenses and blister packs from all brands, contact lens cases, small solution bottles, and eye drop containers. Participants bring materials to official ONE by ONE eye care practice recycling locations. As of November 2025, the program had collected more than 690,000 pounds (approximately 114 million units) of used eye health products.

The company has conducted a contact lens life cycle assessment to prioritize sustainable innovations. Initiatives include replacing printed instructions for use with electronic versions and streamlining packaging content. Bausch + Lomb supports Extended Producer Responsibility reporting through a global packaging database.

The Waterford, Ireland manufacturing facility operates a combined heat and power plant to reduce demand on the electricity grid, capturing waste heat for use in production. The Rochester and Waterford sites have received investment for capacity expansion with attention to sustainable design.

Bausch + Lomb has not announced a formal net-zero emissions target or science-based emissions reduction commitment as of August 2026. The company's sustainability reporting focuses on the recycling program, packaging reduction, and manufacturing efficiency.

Bausch + Lomb's SofLens, launched in 1971, was the first mass-produced soft contact lens in the United States. This product launch is a documented regulatory and industry milestone, having received FDA approval after a two-year review process.

The Bausch + Lomb ONE by ONE Recycling Program has been recognized as the first contact lens recycling program in the United States, operated in partnership with TerraCycle. The program's collection of over 690,000 pounds of used eye health products through November 2025 is a verifiable metric reported by the company.

In the 2026 Forbes Vetted best contact lenses guide, Bausch + Lomb Biotrue One Day lenses were recommended as an affordable daily disposable option. The company's ULTRA and INFUSE lines compete in the premium monthly and daily disposable segments, respectively, though they were not top-ranked in independent 2026 optometrist surveys.

Bausch + Lomb has faced product recalls and regulatory matters over its long history. The most significant historical event was the 2006 ReNu with MoistureLoc recall, in which the company voluntarily withdrew the lens care solution from the market after it was linked to an increased risk of Fusarium fungal keratitis, a serious eye infection. This recall occurred while Bausch + Lomb was still an independent publicly traded company, prior to the Valeant acquisition. The company faced litigation and settled numerous claims related to the incident.

Under Bausch Health ownership, Bausch + Lomb's parent company faced significant scrutiny over its business practices. Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which acquired Bausch + Lomb in 2013, was the subject of congressional investigations and SEC enforcement actions related to drug pricing and accounting practices. These controversies affected the parent company's reputation, though Bausch + Lomb's eye health operations were not the primary focus of the investigations.

As a contact lens manufacturer, Bausch + Lomb is subject to FDA quality system regulations and regular facility inspections. No major FDA Warning Letters specific to Bausch + Lomb contact lens manufacturing facilities have been publicly documented in 2024 or 2025, per available FDA records. The company has issued routine voluntary recalls for specific lots when manufacturing deviations are identified, managed through standard FDA recall procedures.

The incomplete separation from Bausch Health remains a structural consideration. Bausch Health's significant debt load and the delayed full spin-off of Bausch + Lomb have created uncertainty about the timing of the final separation, which has been discussed in investor communications and financial media.