Fabric
Factors that affect the level of sun protection provided by a fabric, in approximate order of importance, include weave, color, weight, stretch, and wetness. In addition, UV absorbers may be added at various points in the manufacturing process to enhance UV protection levels. The more open/less dense the fabric, the worse the protection(weave weight stretch).The darker the color, the more dye, the better the protection. Getting a fabric wet reduces the protection as much as half except for silk and viscose which can get more protective when wet. Polyester contains an ester(benzene) ring that absorbs UV light.
There is some indication that washing fabrics in detergents containing fabric brighteners, which absorb UV radiation, might increase their protective capability. Studies at the University of Alberta also suggest that darker colored fabrics can offer more protection than lighter colored fabrics.
Provide better protection:
- Specially manufactured fabrics
- ZnO Cotton Viscose fabrics
- black or dark blue denim jeans
- wool garments
- Satin finished silk of any weight
- polyacrylonitrile
- 100%polyester
- Shiny polyester blends
- tightly woven fabrics
- unbleached cotton(most cotton sold is bleached)
Provide low protection:
- polyester crepe
- bleached cotton
- viscose
- knits
- undyed/white jeans
- worn/old fabric
Read more about this topic: Sun Protective Clothing
Famous quotes containing the word fabric:
“Counsel woven into the fabric of real life is wisdom.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)
“Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air.
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself—
Yea, all which it inherit—shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“We all participate in weaving the social fabric; we should therefore all participate in patching the fabric when it develops holes—mismatches between old expectations and current realities.”
—Anne C. Weisberg (20th century)