Sharper Image reaffirms Ionic Breeze is safe and effective, founder Richard Thalheimer refutes Consumer Reports' air-cleaner article.

San Francisco, CA - Sharper Image Corporation today reaffirmed to the consumer public, and reassured its customers, that the Company's Ionic Breeze Silent Air Purifiers, the most popular brand of room air cleaner in the U.S., are effective air cleaners and they are safe. The Company's statement unequivocally refutes the implications of Consumers Union's Consumer Reports magazine article ("New Concerns About Ionizing Air Cleaners," May 2005).

"This Consumer Reports piece is, in my view, irresponsible in the way it casually and unscientifically speculates about public health and safety," said Richard Thalheimer, founder, chairman and chief executive officer. "The Ionic Breeze is safe. Like many common consumer electronics (televisions; hair dryers; copy machines), the Ionic Breeze and other electrostatic precipitator air cleaners produce trace levels of ozone as a by-product. There are government safety standards for such devices. The Ionic Breeze air cleaners meet the strictest standard, the 50 parts-per-billion concentration established for indoor medical devices. Over two million Ionic Breeze air cleaners have been purchased; its safe enjoyment by millions of consumers," said Mr. Thalheimer, "is impressive testimony to its safety and effectiveness as an air cleaner.

"It is easy to confuse a category of products called ‘ozone generators’ with air cleaners," noted Mr. Thalheimer. "We agree with Consumers Union and the Environmental Protection Agency that such ‘ozone generators’ are unsafe for home use. Ionic Breeze is emphatically NOT an ozone generator. Ionic Breeze products meet the government's strict safety standards for ozone concentrations in homes; if those standards change, we will meet those as well.

"I am at a loss to explain the motivations behind what I perceive as an unfair assault by Consumers Union, an organization we admired," said Mr. Thalheimer. "It is true that The Sharper Image contested Consumers Union's statements about the air-cleaning effectiveness of the Ionic Breeze in a recent lawsuit. While the judge ruled in favor of Consumers Union's First Amendment right of free speech, nonetheless we continue to emphatically disagree with Consumers Union's methods in evaluating the Ionic Breeze, both in testing and in reporting. There should be no question," said Mr. Thalheimer, "that the Ionic Breeze is a proven-effective air cleaner. It is also America's most popular air cleaner; it has the highest repurchase rate; and, in a national survey of over a thousand air-cleaner owners by a reputable independent organization, the Ionic Breeze brand rated highest in user satisfaction.

"We stand firmly behind our own studies of Ionic Breeze's air-cleaning capabilities; we stand behind the tests of other research professionals and of independent laboratories. Because of these findings, Ionic Breeze air cleaners bear the Seal of Truth from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) and, because of independent tests that confirmed our own, Ionic Breeze bears the Seal of Approval from the British Allergy Foundation (BAF) and their endorsement," said Mr. Thalheimer. "We approached these not-for-profit consumer and service organizations in good faith; we respect their judgment and their dedication to the public's quality-of-life issues. "The Sharper Image is renowned for superior customer service. We have completely liberal return privileges and any customer dissatisfaction is quickly addressed. I can assure the public," said Mr. Thalheimer, "that the level of satisfaction with Ionic Breeze room air cleaners is extraordinarily high - with very few complaints or returns and with excellent word-of-mouth endorsement.

"I am happy to assure our customers and consumers that the Ionic Breeze Silent Air Purifiers are safe and effective for their homes," concluded Mr. Thalheimer.