SHADES : Sunglass Manufacturers Are Capitalizing on Consumer Concerns About Ultraviolet Rays

Once upon a time, there were just sunglasses.

Now there are special sunglasses for the beach and other sunglasses for the yard. There are “blue light blockers” and “ultraviolet light inhibitors.” One firm even touts its sunglasses as “sunscreens for the eyes.”

The outpouring of sunglasses that block the sun’s harmful rays reflects a concern among consumers, amid warnings from eye doctors, that too much ultraviolet light can damage the lens and cause cataracts.

“There is a big consumer awareness about UV light,” says Philip Kahan, vice president for Sunglass Products, a Fullerton importer. “Consumers still want to look fashionable, but they want protection, too.”

The concern about sun damage has been good for the sunglass industry. Last year Americans spent $1.32 billion on sunglasses, up 10% from 1986. That growth has spawned new sunglass companies, especially in the West, and stores that sell only sunglasses, such as Sunglass Hut of America, a Miami-based chain.

Health concerns have especially helped sales of “higher end, more expensive sunglasses,” says Dean Ziff, a Sunglass Hut vice president. He says shoppers in the chain’s 198 stores spend an average of $50 for sunglasses that block the sun’s harmful rays.

With their sights set on bigger sales, sunglass firms are coaxing consumers to buy more than one pair. Gargoyles Eyewear, for example, offers seven different lens colors for different uses. The Kent, Wash., company says its gray lens is “perfect for sunny days,” while its bronze lens is “great for bright and overcast days.” The company has a clear lens that blocks ultraviolet light for “nighttime use.”

“We’re not suggesting that someone buy 80,000 pairs,” says Marji Mires, advertising manager for Gargoyles. She says most people can “get by” with two pairs, one for bright sun and one for cloudy days. The clear sunglasses, she adds, “are perfect for riding your bike at night.”

Other companies dazzle consumers with scientific-sounding descriptions for their products. Oakley, an Irvine manufacturer of ski and surf sunglasses, says its lenses are made of “Plutonite,” a kind of plastic. Revo, based in San Jose, says its $150 sunglasses “permit selective transmission of electromagnetic radiation,” or, simply put, the sunglasses block the sun’s harmful rays.

“Ultraviolet light is the marketing bandwagon of the day,” says Doug Nieh, manager of sunglass products for Polaroid. Once influenced mostly by fashion, sunglass buyers are now preoccupied with health, he says. “Anything that is better for your health sells.”

The possible dangers of sun overexposure received widespread attention a year ago. Interior Secretary Donald Hodel then suggested that consumers wear straw hats, sunscreens and sunglasses to protect themselves from increased radiation caused by the breakdown in the earth’s protective ozone layer. Although Hodel’s idea was quickly derided as the “Ray-Ban plan,” it nonetheless made an impression on some consumers.

“Protection from ultraviolet light is probably now the biggest reason for buying sunglasses,” says Norman Salik, a vice president at Bausch & Lomb, which makes Ray-Ban sunglasses. The company has just started marketing ultraviolet protection, although its sunglasses have offered UV protection for years.

For the past four months, Ray-Ban sunglasses have been sold with black and gold stickers that say the glasses totally block ultraviolet light.

Some medical experts think the industry’s marketing tactics may have gone too far. Take the so-called blue blockers. A number of companies tout the ability of their sunglasses to shut out blue light, or the part of sunlight that allows the eye to see the color blue.

Research Inconclusive

Oakley, for example, says its sunglasses “block 100% of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet and blue light rays.” And Sunglass Products’ best-selling lens is its “blue light eliminator.”

Yet most research into the effects of blue light on the eye is inconclusive. “There’s no evidence that blue light is a problem,” says Dr. Donald G. Pitts, a prominent University of Houston researcher.

And one sunglass company executive acknowledges that blue blockers might be better for sales than for eyes. “It’s really a marketing coup,” says Pamela Halpern, a marketing executive with Tropic-Cal in Los Angeles, which sells the “blu tech 500” lens. “No one has established blue light is dangerous.”

“Blue light never hurt anyone,” says Bausch & Lomb’s Salik. He says his firm’s B-15 lens blocks some blue light to improve visual clarity, not health.

In other areas, some medical experts say the sunglass industry hasn’t gone far enough. Over the past several years, the Food and Drug Administration has urged sunglass manufacturers and distributors to label their products so consumers can compare ultraviolet light protection. The FDA is concerned about ultraviolet light because medical research has linked it to cataracts and other eye disorders, such as pterugium, a condition in which a small membrane grows over the cornea.

The industry has agreed to begin a voluntary labeling program next year, but the FDA isn’t happy with it. The industry standard calls for three classes of sunglasses: cosmetic, general purpose and special purpose. Cosmetic sunglasses block little harmful radiation, while special purpose sunglasses block most harmful radiation.

What the labels won’t say is how much radiation gets through the lens, or what constitutes a “special” purpose, or a “general” purpose. (Industry spokesmen say a special purpose sunglasses are for skiing or sunbathing, while general purpose are for driving, or yard work). The FDA wants the industry to use labels that indicate what percentage of ultraviolet light is blocked by the sunglass lens, but has stopped short of telling the industry to do so.

Opposed to Standard

University of Houston researcher Pitts says the FDA should require that sunglasses block all ultraviolet light. “No one is going to say, ‘This is a general purpose pair of sunglasses, I can’t use them at the beach,’ ” he says.

Sidney Lerman, an Emory University ophthalmology professor, suggests two kinds of sunglasses: one that offers complete protection and another that offers none. Lerman says that people who have had their lenses removed or who are in danger of developing cataracts need extra protection. “Most of us don’t have to worry about ultraviolet light,” he says.

But Lerman is opposed to the industry’s three-tiered standard. “It creates a false sense of security,” he says. “Sunglasses that reduce UV by 80% or 90% can do as much damage as sunglasses that don’t block UV at all.”

The industry itself is divided on the issue. On one side are the makers of expensive, high-tech sunglasses who insist that all lenses should block UV light. On the other side are firms that distribute mid-price sunglasses that offer varying degrees of protection.

The Sunglass Assn. of America, an industry group that represents 87 sunglass companies, is against more detailed labeling. “Our position is that they (the FDA) are going unnecessarily far,” says Maui Edwards, a spokesman. “We’ve sold millions of pairs, and no one is having problems with their eyes.”

The association also opposes a single standard for all sunglasses. El Monte sunglass distributor Jack Martin, who is also president of the association, says the price of most sunglasses would increase by $1 to $5 if the lenses were treated to totally block ultraviolet light.

Besides, Martin says, total UV protection isn’t needed. “There is nothing wrong with most sunglasses,” he says. “No one is selling sunglasses that are going to make you blind, get you dizzy or give you pimples.”

Ultimately, the issue will be decided in the marketplace, says Polaroid’s Nieh. He predicts that most firms will eventually be forced to provide total ultraviolet protection--and label the sunglasses--to compete for sales. That is because consumers increasingly choose sunglasses that boast total protection.

He knows firsthand. Next year, Polaroid sunglasses will be sold with tags and stickers that boldly tell consumers the glasses completely block ultraviolet rays. Nieh says he tried to avoid what he calls “selling through fear” but gave up as more firms mounted anti-ultraviolet light campaigns. “The competition is fierce.”