Solar eclipse warning — Do NOT use glasses bought at Jenkinson’s

POINT PLEASANT BEACH — Jenkinson's has issued a warning about solar eclipse sunglasses it sold in their stores on the boardwalk.

The supplier of the glasses, EverythingBranded.com, warned that there are issues with their certification and recommended they not be used to view Monday's solar eclipse.

Jenkinson's said customers can get a full refund by returning them to the store where the glasses were purchased or by mailing them to 500 Boardwalk, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742 for a full refund.

"We would like to apologize for this inconvenience, as we were assured by the supplier that the Solar Eclipse Glasses we purchased were in fact ISO Certified and safe to distribute," Jenkinson's wrote on their Facebook page.

Jenkinson's spokeswoman Toby Wolf said the glasses were sold at Jenkinson’s South Gift Shop and were offered as a prize at a game.

Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow said it's important to wear the proper eyewear to view the eclipse. Regular sunglasses let in thousands of times more light than would be safe for your eyes.

"Proper eclipse glasses are extremely dark — if you look through them and can see anything other than the sun or a very bright light, they are not dark enough,' Zarrow said. .

Any solar filters or viewers should be labeled with “ISO 12312-2."

Zarrow said the issue is not necessarily that the sun will be substantially stronger or more dangerous during the eclipse.

"The hazard comes from wanting to look directly at the sun Monday afternoon, an activity which is always unsafe," he said.

Send us your pictures of the eclipse with the NJ 101.5 app for Android or iOS, and we'll feature them on NJ1015.com.

Erin Vogt contributed to this report

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com