Clothing Information Frequently Asked Questions

• How are your sun protection clothes and hats better at protecting me than ‘regular’ clothing or hats?
• What is the difference between UPF and SPF?
• If I wear these sun protection clothes, do I still need sunscreen?
• Can I wear your clothing in water?
• Do you sell yardage of your fabrics?
• How do I care for my Coolibar product?

Most summer clothing actually provides less sun protection than a SPF 30 sunscreen. In contrast, our exclusive line of SUNTECT® fabrics have been carefully engineered and repeatedly tested to provide the most effective, long-lasting protection from harmful UVA and UVB rays. With Coolibar's UV clothing, all items protect better than UPF 30 with most protecting better than UPF 50+ at the end of their life. In addition, Coolibar sunscreen clothes will cover up more skin than regular summer clothing - so you need less sunscreen for complete protection.

The Ultraviolet Protection Factor or UPF on sun protective clothing is actually a very similar concept to the Sun Protection Factor or SPF rating for sunscreen but there are some differences. The major difference is that the UPF for sun protective clothing and swimming shirts rates protection for both UVA and UVB whereas the SPF number on sunscreen only rates protection against UVB. Also, a person wearing a UPF 30 garment will, in practice, be protected against 29 of 30 units of UVA and UVB, whereas most people who use a SPF 30 sunscreen don’t apply enough sunscreen and, in practice, end up with significantly less protection, typically being protected against less than 15 of 30 units of UVB.

Sunscreen is always recommended on areas not directly covered by our sun protective fabric, such as your chin, cheeks and hands - this will ensure maximum uv protection.

Our sun protective swimwear like our swimming shirts and shorts are the only clothing we recommend wearing into the water. Salt water and chlorinated water will not harm the fabric. Our chlorine resistant sun hats can also be worn in the water.

We do not offer yards of our UV protection fabric for sale, however we do have a few items that could be used in a variety of ways, such as the Sun Shawl which is 57" x 33" and the Sarong which measures 45" X 46".

Always read and follow the laundering directions on the garment or hat label.

Garments

lite SUNTECT, dri SUNTECT, knit SUNTECT, ZnO SUNTECT

• Machine wash warm water with like colors.
• Use only non-chlorine bleach when needed.
• Tumble dry low.
• Remove immediately.
• Cool iron if needed.
• Select styles may require hand washing and line drying.

• Cold rinse after use.
• Avoid rough surfaces and oil.
• Avoid direct contact with sunscreen as this may stain the fabric.
• Machine wash warm water.
• Use only non-chlorine bleach when needed.
• Line dry.
• Cool iron if needed.

• Hand wash warm.
• Line dry.

• Cold rinse after use.
• Hand wash warm.
• Line dry.

• Spot clean.
• Gently wipe with clean damp cloth.

• Use hat brush or whisk brush to clean.

If you do not see an answer to a question in our Clothing Information FAQs section, please email us at service@coolibar.com.