What is UV 400?

UV radiation is always there, every day of the year regardless of whether it is sunny or overcast and whilst it has positive effects on the production of Vitamin D, it is also something we should protect against.  Protection is required both for our skin and our eyes as it can have damaging effects.

Whilst we are generally aware of how to protect our skin with the application of sun screen, many people are less familiar with protecting their eyes from UV rays and to do so you should always have UV protective lens in your sunglasses.

The sun emits three types of UV.  These are UVA, UVB and UVC.  The UV comes to us in waves, ones of different lengths, and these wave lengths are measure in nano-metres (nm).  So each type of UV has a range as you'll see in the diagram below.

There are different standards across the industry in eyewear, many at the lower end are cheap and ineffective, not blocking these various wave lengths and posing a risk to the wearer as they look into the light with their eyes wide open but without sufficient protection causing ill effects such as Photokeratitis, essentially sunburn of the cornea. 

At Trads our lens is our signature.  Our gradient lens from amber through subtle rose creates a beautiful warmth to the world around you and is the cumulation of a year of development work.  With this we were not wanting to cut any corners and your safety is paramount to us.  As such we utilised the highest standard in UV protection in all our lens.

Our lens provide what is termed as UV400nm protection.  So what does this mean?  In simple terms it provides protection from Ultraviolet waves shorter than or equal to 400 nano-metres meaning that you can block the full spectrum of that harmful UV that causes damage to the eyes.  

When you wear Trads sunglasses, you can go out into the day knowing that you're fully protected not just the eyes themselves but also the surrounding areas (ocular adnex).  These areas are also very sensitive to UV radiation, developing wrinkles, sun spots freckles and even skin cancer in some cases, so scientific and regulatory bodies have always recommended seeking the highest level of protection from your lens. As such 400nm is always the best choice when choosing a lens.

Check out our range of sunglasses knowing that whatever you choose you'll be wearing the highest standard of protection as well as looking great.