European Sunlight Association

The European Sunlight Association a.s.b.l. (ESA) was originally established in 2002 to promote benefits of sunbed use and provide balanced information on the risks and benefits of UV light. Today ESA is recognised by all stakeholders as the representative European association for and the voice of the European indoor tanning industry.

The European Sunlight Association (ESA) represents national indoor tanning associations and leading manufacturers of indoor tanning equipment. ESA currently has 24 members, two of them associated members, from 14 countries, of which 11 are EU countries. Through its national associations and individual company membership, ESA represents most indoor tanning facilities, manufacturers and distributors of indoor tanning equipment in Europe.

Indoor tanning facilities are mostly privately-owned small and medium-sized enterprises, which play a strong role in their local economy. The association represents some 20,000 indoor tanning facilities with approximately 120,000 sunbeds in use, employing nearly 130,000 people in Europe. The annual turnover of the indoor tanning industry (manufacturers, dealers and studios) is about 2.5 billion Euros. Note: The above numbers do not include businesses that provide indoor tanning as an additional service such as fitness studios, hairdressers, beauticians etc.

We, the voice of the European indoor tanning industry, pledge to: 

• Maintain constructive dialogue with the EU and Member State national authorities on policy, standards, and implementation.
• Collaborate on safety standards across the value chain to ensure the highest possible level of customer safety.
• Systematically trigger an operator’s exclusion from national and European professional associations if they fail to abide by the standards.
• Work towards wide scale implementation of the new European Standard on training & service provision and ensure informed advice to customers on sunbed use and exposure schedule.
• Continue to support and promote research on the effects of UV radiation.
• Invest in innovative and safe tanning solutions.

We ask the EU and Member State governments for:

• Effective, comprehensive and consistent market surveillance to verify compliance with existing legislation and standards, to complement the measures already taken by the industry.
• Acknowledgement of the initiatives taken by the industry and support for the implementation of the new European Standard on training & service provision, with a view to making it mandatory.
• A balanced approach to sunbed use, looking both at the risks and benefits of UV radiation, especially given a growing awareness of the risks associated with Vitamin D deficiency.