California Optical
Laboratories Association (COLA)

Serving California Eyecare Professionals for more than 45 Years

The COLA website is intended to serve as a communication link for keeping COLA members informed and up-to-date on industry issues. It also serves as an educational resource for COLA labs to keep their customers, the eyecare professions, informed on the fast-changing lens information they need in caring for the eyes of America.

Founded in 1957, the California Optical Laboratories Association is an organization of full-service optical  laboratories from California and other Western states.

COLA provides the following services through its members:

To learn more about the COLA organization, click on the link at the left titled About COLA.

President's Message


Greetings and welcome to COLA!

I hope this message finds all of you healthy and prosperous. Every day our industry brings us new challenges for us to face and overcome. The networking and camaraderie shared between COLA members and our vendors has helped all of our businesses to grow and profit. Let’s continue to keep these special relationships intact.

COLA is also an active participant in programs, such as the California Vision Project, which offers free eye exams and low-cost eyewear to the low-income working families in California. This project is a collaboration between the California Optometrists Association (C.O.A.), COLA member laboratories, and non-COLA member labs.  COLA has also re-implemented a scholarship program with the Southern California College of Optometry and the University of California, Berkeley, School of Optometry.