- Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation
It’s not an old wives tale – staring at the sun is harmful to your eyes. If you’re one of the millions of people excited to see the coast-to-coast solar eclipse on August 21st, make sure you protect yourself and use specialized sunglasses.
Special-purpose solar filters, such as “eclipse glasses” or handheld solar viewers, are designed to allow you to watch the eclipse without damaging your eyes. However, a significant amount of counterfeit sunglasses are hitting the market ahead of the eclipse and it’s important you know how to tell the difference!
According to the American Astronomical Society (AAS), consumers can no longer just look for the logo of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and a label indicating that the product meets the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard for filters for direct viewing of the sun’s bright face as some fakes have been simply printing the logo and phony safety labels onto their products. These products will not protect your eyes and could potentially harm your eyes to the point of causing blindness
The AAS offers a list of reputable vendors on their website and consumers can purchase online. The issue has become so widespread that Amazon has cracked down on counterfeit sellers, refunding customers who bought glasses that don’t meet safety standards and sending out emails recommending that customers do not use certain products to view the eclipse.
If you want to watch the eclipse, do it safely. Never look directly at the sun. Consumers should use glasses that meet approval from the AAS, view the eclipse through pinhole projection, or watch it on the television!
