Facts and Ficton on Ultraviolet Protection by Clothing
Abstract
With the increase of skin cancer the fact that not all apparel is sufficiently protective against UV Radiation is becoming better know to the public. There is an emerging market for UV protective clothing. Its need is not commonly accepted. Understanding of the influencing factors is low. To the consumer it is not always clear what is fact and what is fiction. This paper answers six frequently asked questions. (1) The need for improving UV protection by clothing is demonstrated by UV transmittance measurements in public. (2) A pitfall in the generally recommended 'see through' assessment test is shown. (3) When a garment gets wet its UV protection is not necessarily poor. (4) The reduced UV protection of stretched knitwear can be accounted for. (5) A real life study confirms that UV protection is not washed out. (6) UV protection can be washed in with special additives to laundry products.
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Hydration or wetting decreases UPF because water eliminates scattering of UV light at the fabric/air interface.
“because the presence of water eliminates the scattering of UV light at the fabric/air interface (24).”
From Photoprotection: a Review of the Current and Future Technologies (2010) · cites this paper as [24]
Dark-colored clothing is less affected by wetting-induced UPF decrease because absorption rather than scattering becomes the dominating protection mechanism.
“clothing with dark colors are less so affected, because absorption rather than scattering becomes the dominating protection mechanism (24).”
From Photoprotection: a Review of the Current and Future Technologies (2010) · cites this paper as [24]
The decrease in UPF from wetting applies mainly to lightly colored fabrics.
“This change applies mainly for lightly colored fabrics;”
From Photoprotection: a Review of the Current and Future Technologies (2010) · cites this paper as [24]
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- Authors
- Osterwalder, U., Schlenker, W., Rohwer, H., Martin, E., & Schuh, S.
- ORCID
- Osterwalder, U.
- Venue
- Radiation Protection Dosimetry
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2000-09-02
- Volume
- 91
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 255-259
- ISSN
- 0144-8420 (ISSN-L)
- 1742-3406
- OpenAlex
- W2321788733
- Cited by
- 40
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 2.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Radiation Protection Dosimetry (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Skin Protection and Aging
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Textile materials and evaluations
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Ophthalmology › Ocular and Laser Science Research
- Keywords
- UV transmittance, skin cancer prevention, consumer misconceptions
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