ANSI, ISEA update Z87.1-2025 eye protection standard

The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) yesterday published updates to their ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2025 eye protection standard.

ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2025 is a national standard defining performance, testing, and marking requirements for eye and face protection devices used in workplace and educational settings.

The revision is intended to help employers and safety professionals more easily select protection that matches specific hazards, supporting efforts to reduce preventable eye and face injuries.

Employers, safety professionals, and manufacturers are encouraged to review the updated edition and evaluate their eye and face protection programs accordingly.

Standardized markings, updated performance language

The 2025 update introduces several enhancements designed to improve clarity, consistency, and usability across eye and face protection requirements, including:

• Clearer, more standardized product markings to better communicate intended hazard protection
• Updated performance language for impact testing, lens performance, and minimum coverage
• Stronger alignment with related eye and face protection standards, including ANSI/ISEA Z97.62-2021, which addresses blood and other potentially infectious materials
• Editorial and structural improvements that make requirements easier to understand and apply

"ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 has always been about practical protection, not theory," said Michael Vitale, Z87 Eye & Face Committee chair. "This revision is focused on making the standard clearer and more usable for the people who depend on it - from manufacturers and safety professionals to the workers and students wearing this equipment every day."

Appropriate options retained, reinforces no on-size-fits-all solution

The organizations said their updated standard continues the performance-based approach that has long defined ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 and remains the foundation for eye and face protection referenced in U.S. workplace safety regulations.

It also retains options introduced in recent editions, including relaxed optics and anti-fog performance, which are valuable in certain environments such as emergency response and military operations.

At the same time, the standard reinforces the importance of hazard assessment and makes clear that no single product is appropriate for every situation.

ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2025 was developed through a consensus process by the ANSI Accredited Standards Committee Z87, with participation from manufacturers, testing laboratories, safety organizations, and government representatives.

Safety culture at work and home

While the standard primarily addresses workplace and educational settings, ISEA recognizes that broader consumer adoption of eye and face protection often begins with industry professionals.

Construction workers, manufacturers, and industrial employees who wear safety glasses on the job are frequently exposed to the same hazards at home. Flying debris from power tools, chemical splashes from household cleaners, and projectiles from lawn equipment present similar risks in garages and backyards as they do on job sites.

"ISEA and the protective eye and face industry believe that encouraging workers to carry their safety habits home plays an important role in reducing preventable injuries, particularly since nearly half of all eye injuries occur in the home," said Steve Clark, ISEA Eye & Face Protection product group chair. "When professionals model consistent eye protection use and share these practices with family members and neighbors, it helps normalize safety behaviors and creates a ripple effect that can significantly reduce the risk of eye injuries where people live, work, and play."

The ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2025 standard is published by ISEA and is available through ANSI, ISEA, and other authorized standards distributors.