Counterfeit solar eclipse glasses are being sold in Kingston, posing a threat to s who look directly into the sun.
Kingston is directly in the path of the total solar eclipse, which is set to take place on April 8 at 3:22 p.m. The City has been preparing to host 500,000 visitors for the eclipse, officials say.
Queen’s University purchased 120,000 glasses for the eclipse, distributing them on campus and at the Kingston Frontenac Public Library. Tourism Kingston is selling eclipse glasses, too.
But online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay are selling counterfeit solar eclipse glasses, according to supply chain experts. Queen’s warned of such counterfeit eclipse glasses being sold on online marketplaces in Kingston.
“These [counterfeit] glasses do NOT stop enough sunlight to be safe,” the University said.
“You can tell by looking at household lights—if you can see the lights easily, these [glasses] should be DISCARDED.”
It’s difficult to discern between fake and protective eclipse glasses because many are designed to look like they’re officially recognized by Solar Eclipse International Canada (SEIC), according to a Queen’s University 2024 Eclipse tweet on March 26.
These fake glasses usually fraudulently print the logo and name of a legitimate manufacturer and can be sold with a lower price tag, according to a press release from the American Astronomical Society (AAS). They’re polluting the marketplace, the AAS said.
“Any company worthy of your business should have established itself well before last October’s annular solar eclipse across the Americas, let alone well before this coming April’s eclipse,” the AAS said in a press release.
Counterfeit glasses could have the ISO mark, but “almost always” lack manufacturing labeling, according to Ralph Chou, professor emeritus of optometry and vision science at the University of Waterloo. Chou is the Vice-Chair of the Canadian Standards Association Technical Committee on Industrial Eye Protection.
“We saw similar knock-off products in 2017 and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the future,” Chou said in an email to The Journal. “As a solar eclipse approaches and public interest increases, the opportunity to make a quick buck is just too tempting.”
Legitimate solar eclipse glasses will state that they comply with the ISO 12312-2: 2015 standard, print the name and address of the manufacturer and testing agency, provide instructions and warnings, and an expiry date.
“A product that meets the requirements of the standard and has these labels can then have the ISO and CE logos on it if the manufacturer or distributor has paid to have the compliance testing done and pays the licensing fee for use of the marks,” he added.
If scenery is visible through the glasses, they are likely counterfeit and letting in too much light, Chou said.
“Generally, you should not be able to see anything through the filters in the solar eclipse glasses except for the sun.”
Viewing the eclipse without solar protection can lead to vision loss or damage, according to KFL&A Public Health. It’s unsafe to look at it through a phone, camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope—even while wearing eclipse glasses—unless the equipment is properly outfitted with a filter.
During the moments of “totality,” where the moon completely covers the sun, it is safe to remove glasses to peek at the eclipse. The solar eclipse glasses are in high demand across Eastern Canada, with organizations like the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) selling over 70,000 pairs so far, a company spokesperson said in an email to The Journal. But the society could have ordered twice that and sold them all, the RASC said.
Some vendors of legitimate solar glasses have sold out, but many still have them in stock, according to the RASC.
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