International Sunglasses Day saw many opticians trying to raise awareness about the importance of wearing good quality and effective eye protection last week. Everything from shop-front displays to social media campaigns were used to push forward the agenda. But how much do consumers know, or even care, about the health benefits of UV protection?
Out of the eight members of the public that Optician spoke to, only one knew it was International Sunglasses Day – they had seen it circulating on social media that day. The remaining seven had no idea.
As for where those asked got their sunglasses ranged from customised street-sellers aboard, to being discovered in the back of an old car, to independents and multiples.
Best to invest
Bruno Mendez was wearing Ray-Bans for both their ‘iconic style and effective protection’. He bought them from ‘a small independent opticians in Camden because the customer service is second to none and they have a huge range of frames.’
He said that he normally looks for polarised lenses, even though his current ones are not, and ‘the CE written inside, which indicates they adhere to European standards’. The most he had spent on a pair of sunglasses were for his present pair, costing £170, but he would happily do so again ‘if they could top the pair I currently have’.
Mendez knew that prolonged UV exposure came with risks but was unable to name a specific condition. ‘We are all taught from a young age not to look directly at the sun,’ he said. ‘But in terms of specific dangers, no, I can’t name any.’
Fast fashion
‘I normally pick up my sunglasses from a high street fashion store like Topshop or H&M. I often wear contacts so it’s cheaper and easier for me to buy high street sunglasses,’ said student Olivia Rook.
‘Prescription sunglasses are often quite expensive, and I would only buy them if I was getting a deal with a normal pair of glasses, like buy one pair and get the other half price,’ she said.
‘I already know that getting my sunglasses at an opticians would mean they would be better for my eyes in terms of UV protection. But sunglasses go in and out of fashion so quickly and I seem to get a new pair every year, so it isn’t cost effective to buy them from an opticians.’
Rook knew that lenses should offer UV protection but, in lieu of knowing the indicators, ‘would probably go by the brand’. She said she would only spend around £20-25 on a pair of sunglasses, unless she needed to update her prescription, which happened ‘infrequently’.
Cheap and easy
‘I tend to go for quite cheap sunglasses rather than focusing on the quality,’ said Greg Wall, who bought his pair from Amazon. ‘I do have a habit of losing or breaking them. I don’t wear them very often and it just happens that I break them quite a lot, so I just go for what’s cheap and easy,’ he said.
Asked if he would buy better quality sunglasses from an optician, he responded: ‘No. If I lived in a country with a lot more sun and where I would wear them all the time then I would, but it doesn’t seem worth it for the amount I wear them. As I said, I also break them quite a bit as glasses aren’t a part of my habit and I tend to forget about them.’
Wall’s reluctance to spend much money on sunglasses may have been because of his lack of knowledge about eye health. He knew to look for the marking ‘UV400’ or ‘CE’ but knew little of the health dangers of UV rays. ‘Obviously it can blind you, but I don’t know the long-term effects the sun can have on your eyes.’
The family heirloom
Another individual who was oblivious to it being International Sunglasses Day, Henry Vinson was sporting a pair of sunglasses that he and his mother found in his grandad’s old car. They have since discovered they are over 40 years old.
‘I wear them because I think they’re fashionable, to me they look cool,’ he said. Vinson said he would spend up to £127 on sunglasses if they were the right ones. ‘I’d quite like some Aviator Ray-Bans, and I know that they can cost around the £127 mark, so I’m going to say that is how much I’d pay.’
He also knew what to look for when it came to protection markers: ‘I believe they have to say UV 400 somewhere on the frames’. But he missed both the European (CE) and British (BSEN1836) standard markings. When asked about the dangers of UV rays, Vinson knew very little but did add: ‘That reminds me of that photo of Donald Trump looking at a recent eclipse barely shielding his eyes, which was quite funny. I don’t think he knows all of the dangers either.’
Eye care accessory
Alice Santunione purchased her unbranded frames from a small sunglasses and accessories shop in Notting Hill Gate, ‘both for protection by getting category 3 and fashion because I think they look good’. Although unaware that it was International Sunglasses Day, she did know what to look for, in part, when it came to quality markers. ‘Look for mark CE, minimum of category 3 and it’s better if they are polarized,’ she said.
‘I will buy sunglasses from an optician if the quality and the design is worth the price,’ said Santunione. ‘I will definitely choose an optician for a professional advice if I need prescription glasses.’
She came in around the middle of the price range people set, at £50 for a pair of sunglasses. This was ‘because online competitors are offering good branded glasses for a reasonable price’. Santunione said she did not have children, but that when she did, she ‘will encourage them to wear proper sunglasses’.
What united all these respondents, was a lack of knowledge about the dangers inadequate sunglasses pose to eye health. And even though most of those asked knew vaguely what to look for when it came to quality and protection indicators, this did not always translate onto how much they would be willing to pay, which varied wildly. Some said they would be happy to spend up to £170, while others would not go higher than £6.50.
Overall, the exercise exposed a knowledge gap in the general public, and one which optical practices can set out to close.
Interviews by Optician Reporters Sean Rai-Roche and Zoe Wickens.
Key findings
- A quarter had bought their sunglasses at an optician
- Half could identify UV protection markings
- Half said they would spend more than £50 on a good quality pair of sunglasses
- Overall the average price wearers spend on sunglasses worked out as £66
