The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court, Perth, against two separate sunglass suppliers, Apollo Optical (Aust) Pty Ltd and Monza Imports Pty Ltd.
It is alleged that the companies have supplied sunglasses and fashion spectacles that do not comply with the field of view requirements of the relevant mandatory product safety standard, Australian Standard AS 1067.1-1990, in contravention of the Trade Practices Act. This standard currently requires that sunglass and fashion spectacle lenses must have a minimum 30mm vertical field of view. Section 65C of the Act prohibits a corporation from supplying goods intended or likely to be used by a consumer that do not comply with a prescribed consumer product safety standard.
In separate proceedings, the ACCC is alleging that:
- during the period November 2000 to April 2001, Apollo supplied the CAB 55 002 model of fashion spectacles to retail outlets which had a vertical field of view of only 23.5mm; and
- during the period June 2000 to May 2001, Monza supplied sunglasses labelled SPY iSiS to retail outlets which had a vertical field of view of only 26.5mm.
In both actions, the ACCC is seeking court orders including:
- declarations
- injunctions restraining the traders from supplying non-complying sunglasses or fashion spectacles in the future
- the withdrawal of the offending sunglasses and fashion spectacles from sale
- refunds to consumers and retailers who return the sunglasses and fashion spectacles to the traders
- the placement of product safety notices in newspapers and stores
- the implementation/maintenance of a trade practices compliance program; and costs
Further information on product safety and standards is available on the ACCC website at http://www.accc.gov.au. This site is regularly updated with news on mandatory standards, bans and recalls, as well as media releases and links to other useful sites.