View Full Version : What makes a fabric have SPF?
Earl Grey
03-19-2007, 23:32
Been looking at some sombrero type hats for the summer recently and some of them say they have SPF built into them. How do they go about doing this if theyre made of the same material as other hats that do not say they have some sort of SPF? It seems by the nature of any heavy type fabric(nylon, goretex) that it would already by UV resistant.
Senor Quack
03-19-2007, 23:40
I'm a layperson and am curious, too. I'm 99% certain it's marketing taken to a new low, but who knows?
headonkey
03-20-2007, 10:34
Just speculating here, I would think that any clothing would have some SPF value to it. Also, the tighter the weave and thicker the fabric, the higher the SPF.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
03-20-2007, 11:16
This site (http://www.arpansa.gov.au/is_protct.htm) addresses many of the questions.
Some clothing is advertised to have a special material that increases SPF. This is very much like the ingredient in most laundry detergents that brightens clothing by shifting some of the UV reflection to visible light. It's an enhanced version of that.
After the clothing has been washed a few times it'll have more SPF due to this ingredient than when it's new.
SPF Sun Protection Facter. The amount of Exposure that the Skin is exposed to in one hour. For example a SPF 15 means that your skin while protected by a sun screen or clothing with a rating of SPF 15. It will take the protected skin 15 hours to aquire the same sun exposure that the unprotected skin recieves in one hour.:sun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotechnology
mythicyeti
03-29-2007, 00:23
The simpilist answer is that all clothing offers some protection. To put a SPF label on an article of clothing the vendor must have it tested. Things that can enhance the SPF of a garment include additives, design and the actual textile that it's made of.
Cheers