# UV-proof clothes

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uv-proof-clothes/112645>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [June 6, 2002, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uv-proof-clothes/112645 "2002-06-06T11:50:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uv-proof-clothes/112645/1 "2002-06-06T11:50:27Z")

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I hear there are clothes designed to protect you from sunlight. Long-sleeve shirts and long pants with good ventilation, designed to be used in summer, made with some type of UV-proof coating or fabric. Do they work well? Any particular company (preferably mail-order) you recommend? It’s a lot of trouble to use sunscreen just for short errands or lunchtime bike rides.

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uv-proof-clothes/112645/2 "2002-06-06T12:48:05Z")

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Speaking as an optics guy, the major problem is to let UV _in_, not to keep it out. Virtually all fabrics block UV (which is why you pay extra for those bathing suits that let you tan right through them), except where it leaks in through the weave. So wear close-knit fabrics and you should be safe.

I’ve never understood all the big deal about UV-proof sunglasses, either. Virtually all common glasses and plastics block the “hard” UV at wavelengths shorter than 300 nm ( = 3000 Angstroms), and most cut off well above 300 nm as well. Again, the hard part is finding materials that let the UV through.

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**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uv-proof-clothes/112645/3 "2002-06-06T13:31:16Z")

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A lot of outdoor clothing sold in Australia comes with SPF ratings (like sunscreen) - particularly beach clothes. But yeah, 'most any cloth will block those rays.

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**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uv-proof-clothes/112645/4 "2002-06-06T14:15:51Z")

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Rit makes a product you add to your laundry that raises the spf.  
[http://brands.bestfoods.com/sun\_guard/](http://brands.bestfoods.com/sun_guard/)

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**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2002, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uv-proof-clothes/112645/5 "2002-06-07T00:06:47Z")

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i’ve tried, [www.solumbra.com](http://www.solumbra.com) a bit pricy, but oooohhhh, so worth it.