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Sunglasses are an essential product for eye protection, with eye protection comes the responsibility of the manufacturers to ensure that the glasses will actually protect eyes. As eyes can be subjected to glare, direct light and UV rays, it is imperative that sunglasses provide full protection.
In July 1997, the voluntary British Standard for sunglasses was replaced by the similar (but compulsory) European Standard BS EN 1836:1997. Subsequently, all sunglasses for sale within the European Union had to conform to that standard and the PPE Directive 89/686/EEC indicated by the CE mark. There are some indications that the imposition of this standard has helped to remove some of the lowest-priced product from the market, particularly since the manufacturer or supplier must be identified in labelling.
Over the longer term, this development could do more to promote consumer awareness of the properties of sunglasses because of the labelling requirements included in the Standard.
These are:
In addition, further information may be included on the optical class of lenses, their transmittance and robustness - for instance, indicating sunglasses designed to be suitable for active sportswear.
Filter categories
There are five filter categories, as follows:
The majority of all-purpose sunglasses are Category 3, while many specifically designed for driving are Category 2.
Categories 0 and 1 do not reduce bright sun glare, although they will give protection against UV rays if they conform to the Standard because UV protection results from the application of UV absorbers in the lens. The use of Category 0 was until recently confined to photochromic fashionability (those that darken in the sun's rays) in their faded state. However, the current fashionability of a very light tint has seen more common use not only of Category 1 but also Category 0 in sunglasses.