Wearing protective clothing is
actually one of the best ways to avoid sunburns and skin cancer, and more
designers are incorporating sun protection into high-style couture, the New York Times reported July 18.
Led by fashion- and sun-conscious
female designers, the fashion industry has come out with clothing lines like
Parasol, Mott 50, and Cover that are specifically designed to protect against
the sun’s UV harmful rays. Whereas a typical white t-shirt has a
ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of 5, this clothing has a minimum UPF of
50, meaning that no more than 2 percent of UV rays can penetrate the fabric.
J Crew and Target also sell clothing
with UPF ratings.
“It’s taken awhile to educate people
on what sun-protective clothing is and how it’s different from regular
clothing,” says Anne Reilly, a founder of Mott 50. “But it’s been a labor of
love because my mom had melanoma and I lost my aunt to melanoma.” Some
women buy the clothing to protect against skin cancer, while others simply want
to avoid the aging effects of the sun, such as wrinkles, spots, and moles.
“A lot of Americans use sunscreen
and a lot of clinicians recommend sunscreen, but there’s good data that
sun-protective clothing is a more effective way to protect yourself from the
harmful rays of the sun,” says dermatologist Elani Linos, M.D., of the
University of California at San Francisco’s School of Medicine. “This is a
critical issue as we’re seeing skyrocketing rates of skin cancer — some
call it an epidemic — particularly among young people.”
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