All parents need to know there is a real major problem with all world sunglasses standards. Yes. I said all world sunglasses standards. And there certainly are dangerous world sunnies standards for kids. Especially when it comes to sunglasses for those under 10 years old. And the younger the child is the bigger the problem is. So, for both babies and toddlers you must be extremely careful when you buy baby and toddler sunglasses. Because many kids sunglasses that do pass world standards can cause blindness.
Bad sunnies standards for kids
How did this happen
The world’s very first sunglasses standard was written in Australia. And at that time there were no babies sunglasses available. So the sunglasses standard was only written for older kids and adults. So the standard was OK at that time.
Then sometime later both the EU and USA simply copied the Australian standard. But with one minor change. They both thought that as the sun is not as strong in their countries as it is in Australia. They should downgraded the UV from 400Nm to 380Nm. So both those standards neglect 20Nm of harmful UV rays. Therefore 40% of harmful UVA can reach the eyes when wearing these sunglasses.
And as you can see in the table below. Even in the latest Australian sunglasses standard. Sunnies with lens category #3 lenses can pass the standard with only 91% UVA protection. Therefore 9% of harmful UVA can reach the eyes when wearing these sunglasses.
| Lens category | Visible light transmission % | UVB % 280nm – 315nm | UVA % 315nm – 400 nm |
| 0 | 100 – 80 | 95 – 96 | 0 – 20 |
| 1 | 80 – 43 | 96 – 97.85 | 20 – 57 |
| 2 | 43 – 18 | 97.85 – 99.1 | 57 – 82 |
| 3 | 18 – 8 | 99.1 – 99.6 | 91 – 96 |
| 4 | 8 – 3 | 99.6 – 99.85 | 96 – 98.5 |
UV protection limitations
Even as I write this today not one world sunglasses standard has been amended to fix this major problem. (Originally published 12/08/23, still no amendment 22/1/26). Instead baby and toddler sunglasses were only incorporated into existing standards. With no real amendments for UV protection when it comes to sunnies standards for small kids.
Therefore today 100% UV protection is still not a requirement. Note that even the world’s strictest sunglasses standard. AS/NZS 1067.1:2016 from Australia. Can have as low as 0% UVA protection depending on the lens category. And both the EU and USA standards are even lower. So always avoid both the EU and USA sunglasses in Australia and overseas. Especially for young children.
The big problem with the sunnies standards for kids
So why is the transmission of this harmful UVA. (9% UVA Australian standard or 40% UVA EU and USA standard). On CAT#3 lenses such a big problem for babies and toddlers? Because sunglasses do have dark lenses. And when the eye is in the dark (like behind a dark lens). The pupil will dilate (open wider) and this allows the harmful UVA to enter a wide open eye. We certainly do know that small children’s eyes do transmit these harmful UV rays all the way to the retina. You can read about it in our blog: The Reliable Truth, How UV Damages Eyes. Therefore this is a really big problem for all babies and young kids.
Non-compliant UV 400 stickers
Don’t be fouled. If you think UV400 stickers fixed the problem. It did not! UV stickers are not apart of any world sunglasses standard. So this claim is never checked in any country. And our testing has shown that no sunglasses with these stickers cuts 100% of the harmful UV. At best they only meet the current standards.
For those children who do wear low quality lenses. Or even lenses that do pass world standards. This does have disastrous consequences. And as a result it leads to terrible eye diseases. Like cataracts, pterygium, actinic & droplet keratitis, pinguecula and macular degeneration including blindness. So, even buying sunglasses made to world sunnies standards for kids. They certainly can and do cause blindness.
Please be really careful when buying sunglasses for a baby, toddler or even kids under 10 years old. Due to these dangerous sunnies standards for kids. Your child does not deserve to end up blind just because you purchased the wrong sunglasses.
*News flash* sunnies standards for kids
Yet another huge problem has emerged. And every child who wears sunglasses with these cheap, soft, distorted nasty TAC polarized film (lenses) will end up blind. And the more often they wear this rubbish the quicker they will end up blind. See all the details and video on this page. We have also included a name and shame list of some of those companies who are selling these really dangerous polarized sunglasses. Please be careful.
I try to warn the Australian Standards Association
07/02/2025 Today I personally went to see the Australian standards Association at 20 Bridge street, Sydney NSW Australia. Hoping to speak with someone so they know there is a huge problem with the sunglasses standard and to get it amended. But what I found was a fortress and no one without a pass could enter.
So, I politely phoned them from down stairs. Explained that the sunglasses standard has a huge problem that causes blindness (especially to children) and it needs to be amended. Hoping that at least someone would come down stars and talk to me so I could explain the problem. The reply, NO. We do not have any one here. But suggested I try sending them an email.
All parents need to know about this very important information. So please like this post by clicking on the like (thumbs up) button below. That certainly will help more people see this important information. Thanks.
We do use RSS feeds to protect our copyright blogs.
If you are looking for the very best baby or kids sunglasses. You certainly cannot buy better than our high quality range. Available now at our online shop. Check them out.
