Kiwis wearing untested sunglasses
New Zealanders may be buying substandard sunglasses because of a lack of testing.
Research published in the journal Biomedical Engineering OnLine shows that testing of sunglasses falls far short of useful measures.
But the president of the NZ Association of Optometrists, Callum Milburn, said most New Zealanders would be disappointed to know the sunglasses sold here are not even tested to meet the current, voluntary standard.
A Consumer NZ test found only 48 of the 60 pairs it tested met the standard. It said some sunglasses were also packaged with claims of being ‘‘UV400’’ credited – but there is no accepted definition of what this means.
In Australia, the Australian and New Zealand Standard is mandatory, and Milburn said his association wanted to see New Zealand follow suit.
‘‘The lenses need to provide adequate UV filters because sun damage can lead to cataracts, cancers, retina damage and perhaps even blindness. Much of the tissue damage from UV radiation is irreversible, making prevention an important consideration,’’ he said.
The Brazilian study suggested that because most people would wear the same pair of sunglasses for a minimum of two years, and two hours a day, the ‘‘ageing test’’ should guarantee their safety over that period. At the moment, it only tests for the equivalent of two summer days.