Can Clothing Really Protect You from the Sun?
This myth-busting piece goes out to all the people who love to wear sleeves to the beach.
As smart and intentional consumers, we want to make sure that the products we purchase really do what they claim they’re going to do. When it comes to sun-protective clothing, we want to know: will these clothes really protect me from the sun’s harmful UVA and UVB rays? Here’s the scoop on sun-protective clothing and what you need to know the next time you skip that bottle of SPF for a light sweater instead.
Don’t all clothes protect me from the sun?
While clothing of all kinds can provide some protection from the sun, there are fabrics and styles that do a better job of protecting our skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays than others. When it comes to protection from the sun, clothing can be categorized by its UPF rating. UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) is an indicator of how much of the sun’s UV power is able to be absorbed.
For example, a fabric with a UPF rating of 25 will allow 1/25th of the sun’s UV rays to pass through while blocking out 24/25ths. This is pretty significant protection as it means that only 4% of the sun’s UV rays will be absorbed by your skin with the rest being blocked out by the fabric.
Lightweight and light-colored clothing made from loosely woven fabrics — like linen and silk — typically have the lowest UPF rating, while heavyweight fabrics — like wool and denim — in dark colors with a tight weave have a higher UPF rating.
On average, lightweight and light-colored clothing items have a UPF rating of 7, which is pretty low. When you look at denser fabrics though — like tightly woven, dark-colored denim — you end up with a UPF rating of closer to 1700 which is remarkably high and protective.
In the middle are dark-colored loosely woven items which carry a UPF rating of around 10 and higher, but not totally tightly woven fabrics in dark colors can have a UPF rating of around 50. One easy test to determine how sun-protective your clothing is to hold the item up to a light. If the light shines through, its UPF rating is probably relatively low.
What about clothing marketed as sun-protective?
Clothing marketed as protective against the sun has a higher UPF rating than most of the loose cotton clothes that often make up our summer favorites but their ratings may still vary greatly.
To be marketed as sun-protective, clothing must have a UPF of at least 15, though most clothing marketed as sun-protective has a UFP of at least 50.
Sun-protective clothing is often attractive because it’s treated with special dyes that can block out the sun rather than blocking it out naturally through a tight weave and dense fabric. This often makes sun-protective clothing much lighter and more comfortable to wear in the sun than the heavy denim shirt that might have a similar UPF rating.
When wearing sun-protective clothing though, consumers should remain aware that what they do while they’re wearing it, and how they care for it, can deeply impact its UPF.
When sun-protective clothing gets worn out or stretched, it can lose some of its protective power, rendering it similar to a regular, non-treated item of clothing.
It’s important to be mindful of how we care for our clothing — sun-protective or not — and be sure to follow its specific care instructions. If you’re on the hunt for clothing that will protect you from the sun, you now have a good idea of what you should be looking for: either dense, tightly woven, dark fabrics or dye-treated, sun-protective clothing. Once you’ve determined a sun-safe outfit and applied sunscreen to your exposed skin you’ll be ready to enjoy the hot days ahead!
