Selling sunglasses and eyewear online: impact tests, UV claims and lenses

"UV400" appears on many sunglasses listings, and it is easy to get wrong. It is a claim about what the lenses block, and like any health-related claim it needs evidence behind it. Sunglasses also have a rule most sellers never see: every lens sold in the US must pass the FDA's impact resistance test. And one eyewear product, the contact lens, is a prescription medical device, even when it is coloured and sold as a costume.

This page covers lenses, claims, contact lenses, and the EU's rule.

What this page covers: sunglasses, reading glasses, blue light glasses, frames, contact lenses and goggles.

The short version

• Sunglass and eyeglass lenses must pass the FDA impact resistance test.
• UV and blue light claims need evidence.
• Contact lenses, coloured and costume ones included, are prescription medical devices.
• Walmart and eBay prohibit contact lenses.
• In the EU, sunglasses are personal protective equipment with CE marking and a filter category.

Must sunglass lenses pass an impact test?

Yes. Every sunglass and eyeglass lens sold in the US must pass the FDA's impact resistance test. It is part of making eyewear, not of listing it, so keep the maker's confirmation on file.

When can a listing claim UV400 or blue light protection?

Only with evidence: UV protection and blue light claims are claims about health, and they need evidence behind them. Write them this way:

• Use "UV400" or "100% UV protection" only when the lens test report says so.
• Describe blue light glasses by what the lens does, filtering a stated share of blue light, only when you have the figure from a test. Leave out claims about sleep, eye strain or eye health.
• Never draw a UV rating or certification mark onto an image when the product does not carry it.

Can you sell coloured contact lenses on Walmart or eBay?

No. Contact lenses are medical devices sold on prescription in the US. That includes coloured and costume lenses with no vision correction.

• Walmart prohibits contact lenses.
• eBay prohibits contact lenses, zero-powered and cosmetic ones included.

What should eyewear images show?

Eyewear images should show the frame from several sides, any marking as printed and the fit, without a suggested health result:

• Show the frame from the front, the side and folded, with the lens colour true.
• Show any UV or CE marking on the lens or arm as printed.
• On a face, show the fit and size; leave out scenes that suggest a health result, such as glare vanishing from a screen.

What do sunglasses need in the EU?

In the EU, sunglasses are personal protective equipment. They carry CE marking and a filter category.

How Commicorn helps

• Your marks, as printed. On the Untouched product route your photo's pixels are never redrawn, so the markings on your frames and lenses stay exactly as printed, and nothing is added that the product does not carry.
• Claims that need proof are marked. For Amazon, the keyword step shows a certification keyword with a line saying a valid certificate is needed.

Questions sellers ask

Can I write UV400 on my sunglasses listing?

Only when the lens test report says so. UV protection claims are claims about health, and they need evidence behind them.

Do sunglasses need an impact test?

Yes. Every sunglass and eyeglass lens sold in the US must pass the FDA's impact resistance test, so keep the maker's confirmation on file.

Are coloured contact lenses medical devices?

Yes. Contact lenses are medical devices sold on prescription in the US, including coloured and costume lenses with no vision correction.

Can blue light glasses claim to help sleep?

Not without evidence. Blue light claims are claims about health, so describe the share of blue light the lens filters, from a test, and leave out sleep, eye strain and eye health.

What do sunglasses need to be sold in the EU?

CE marking and a filter category, because sunglasses are personal protective equipment in the EU.

Before you list

Have the lens test report behind any UV400 or blue light figure, and the maker's confirmation that the lenses pass the FDA impact test, on file before the listing goes live; for the EU, the CE marking and filter category. An edge case is settled by the FDA's impact rule (21 CFR 801.410), the FTC's evidence standard for health claims and the EU's personal protective equipment regulation, all linked below.