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Is it Rx safety or fashion eyewear? In some cases, you cannot see the difference on the wearer. The latest generation of safety frames incorporates many of the same designs and materials found in regular fashion eyewear. Manufacturers now offer wraparound styles and fashionable titanium half-rim frames that are look-a-likes to fashion eyeglasses. Employees are comfortable leaving their workplace in their safety frames.

However, SRx frames and lenses are crafted to meet very specific workplace safety requirements and protect against hazards such as airborne particulates, chemical spills and impact. Today, manufacturers of protective eyewear continue to advance the goal of combining serious performance with comfort, utility and good looks. For example, fashionable titanium frames may have a clear and barely noticeable side shield for extra protection against dust.

Safety eyewear must be compliant with the ANSI Z87.1 standards set for workplace use. To address the need for safety on the job, OSHA states that employers must assess workplace hazards to eye safety and provide the appropriate protection. To define what’s appropriate, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) conducts the testing that creates safety performance standards for eyewear. When a product carries the ANSI Z87.1 compliance label, it meets the impact standards set for safety eyewear.

SRx frame materials run the gamut from plastic, nylon and polycarbonate to higher end metals like lightweight titanium and stainless steel. Full-rim styles account for the majority of frames offered, but there are half-rim and rimless frames as well. There are sporty wraparounds and dress wear styles that meet safety standards. Removable side shields convert stylish frames into on-the-job work wear. Comfort is enhanced with features like removable foam seals around the eye rim and temples, spring hinges and pressure-sensitive temples, soft conforming nose bridges and flexible nose pads.

As for lenses, polycarbonate continues to be the material of choice for safety eyewear because of its shatterproof qualities. There are polarized lenses in a variety of tints and photochromic lenses for safety in light-changing conditions. Special coatings are popular add-ons, including anti-reflective and anti-scratch coatings, as well as anti-fog coatings that protect workers’ whose eyeglasses fog up due to temperature changes in their work environment.


Hilco’s SRx Business
According to Kelly Piotto, senior product manager, Hilco’s industrial SRx business has grown by roughly 15 percent to 20 percent over the past few years, following exponential growth in the category around 2007 when frame manufacturers started to expand their safety product offerings. To support its safety frames business, Hilco has both a field sales force and an inside sales staff working with its accounts that include independent ECPs, retail chains and wholesale labs.

“We are very flexible working with retail customers,” said Piotto. “We identify a price point and try to build a collection of safety frames that meets their target. We encourage them to show a variety of options, however, because customers will often pay out of pocket for upgrades not covered by an employer.” Most independent ECPs use wholesale labs for their safety orders, Piotto noted, since those labs are certified to produce ANSI compliant jobs.

In terms of frame styles, Piotto observed that industrial managers tend to prefer the utilitarian look because they want it to be obvious that workers are wearing safety frames, especially when inspectors visit their locations. “Among employees, however, there is a trend toward sportier eyewear and the fashion look of sunglasses because they don’t want to look nerdy on the job.”

Hilco’s OnGuard Safety Eyewear collection includes more than 100 styles in 10 different materials to meet a range of budgets and safety needs. The collection protects workers without sacrificing utility, comfort or fashion, said Piotto.

Hilco’s new iShield technology provides side shields that can be permanent or removable. Available on the OnGuard Elite collection, the iShield side shields mount from the inside of the temple to avoid compromising the frame style. OnGuard’s versatile Specialty collection includes non-conductive, metal-free materials and offers options such as removable full eye seal protection and straps designed to support extreme work environments.

For more information go to www.hilco.com. Select: Catalogs, OnGuard Safety Eyewear


Wiley X’s Industrial Safety Line
Wiley X’s industrial safety line is sold primarily through ECPs, especially those who understand the value of this category and have built relationships with employers in their area, said Rob Maser, commercial sales director. Maser explained, “These are the ECPs who go out into the community and say to companies, ‘I have industrial safety products and I can meet your needs as your vision care professional.’ ECPs can generate hundreds of patients with just one employer, and our products help them do that.”

According to Maser, “Wiley X is recognized as a premium performance brand, so the employers who choose Wiley X are very much into the safety culture and want their employees to wear the best eye protection, not just at work but outside work as well because they know that eye injuries, no matter where they happen, can be bad.”

The company has just launched a new line called WorkSight that provides ANSI compliant eye protection in a high quality fashionable dress frame that “people will want to wear everywhere,” said Maser. WorkSight eyewear comes equipped with removable, barely visible side shields that can be attached for on-the-job safety.

Drawing on its safety heritage and patented technologies, the Wiley X safety line also includes: Removable Facial Cavity seals with air permeable foam that fits the face closely and comfortably to block airborne particles; Digiforce free-form lenses that optimize vision clarity on its 8-base wraparound styles; the Top Down ventilation feature for goggles that reduces heat and fogging; LA light-adjusting lenses that auto-adjust to light changes; and Filter 8 polarization technology. The company encourages customers to use its Wiley X lab facility to fulfill orders for its extensive line of safety eyewear.

For more information, go to www.wileyx.com/safety.


3M’s Industrial Safety Products
Gilbert Igo, 3M’s global manager, eyewear and SRx, has seen a shift in attitudes among industrial safety professionals wanting more robust protection for their employees. Styles that fit closer to the face to provide gap protection from airborne particulates are more popular, said Igo. 3M’s safety frames offer features like built-in brow protection and removable foam temple gaskets that snap into place.

While safety is the priority, employees also want to look good, Igo noted, and 3M offers a line of sporty and fashionable safety frames. There is also strong interest in premium lens coatings to reduce glare and fogging, said Igo, noting that customers are more willing to add these upgrades to their SRx purchase.

3M markets its safety eyewear through several distribution channels, with the greatest sales volume going direct to large companies with 500+ employees. “We have a complete B-2-B program to support these customers, with an external sales team and internal specialists who provide administrative support,” Igo said. The company also distributes safety products via its ECP network, wholesale labs and national retail chains, as well as with safety equipment channel partners.

For smaller employers, 3M has a turnkey program called Simple Solutions that offers a package price per employee covering frames, lenses and a professional dispensing fee, along with online support materials that can be tailored to their individual needs. The companies are referred to 3M’s ECP network to handle dispensing of frames to their employees.

For more information, go to www.solutions.3m.com.


Kenmark’s Wolverine Line
Kenmark’s Wolverine line of safety eyewear trades on the Wolverine brand’s association with rugged, durable safety gear, extending that tradition to its industrial frame collection. The ECP community, supported by Kenmark’s national sales force, is the primary sales channel for Wolverine safety eyewear, according to Jason Wehlage, product designer. Consumers looking for safety frames can find an optical shop selling the Wolverine line in their zip code area on the Kenmark website.

Wehlage sees a trend toward the sportier styles in the Wolverine safety frame collection, which includes wraparound styles as well as more fashion-oriented dress frames. In the future, he believes that safety eyewear will be used more and more as regular dress eyewear. Said Wehlage, “With technology like Wolverine’s Dura-lock side shields that are removable, wearers can choose a fashionable titanium frame and use it on and off the job.”

For more information, go to www.kenmark.com. Select “Collections” and Wolverine Safety


Honeywell’s Titmus & Uvex
Honeywell sells prescription safety frames under both the Uvex and Titmus brand names. The Titmus Rx safety line includes eight different collections with styles running the gamut from high fashion titanium frames to wraparound styles offering fuller coverage. It offers Uvex polycarbonate side shields in both clear and gray. The company’s honeywellsafety.com website offers helpful suggestions for selecting frame styles and features that address the needs of work environments such as construction, food services, forestry, law enforcement, utilities and agriculture.

There are, for example, about 46 different Honeywell frame styles to meet the needs of construction workers, providing protection against hazards such as impact and abrasion, dust, low visibility, airborne particulates and chemical splashes. The styles range from close-fitting goggles to sporty looking wraps. Features like unobstructed peripheral vision, anti-fog coatings, lightweight frames and comfortable temple and nose bridge designs are included in the line.

For more information, go to www.honeywellsafety.com, www.titmus.com.