Protect yourself from the sun with UV clothing

Do you know someone who always looks like a boiled lobster during the summer months? It’s easy get to that stage if you stay outdoors all day while the sun is baking, and you’ve not protected yourself against the sun’s harmful rays.

You’re especially exposed to UV radiation in professions such as carpentry, asphalt paving, building and construction, painting, farming and greenkeeping, or if you play golf, go hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities. That’s why extra protection is important.

This is where UV workwear, UV clothing or caps are a great supplement to sunscreen. Especially as this type of sun protection doesn’t disappear during the day if you sweat.

How does UV clothing work?

The fabric in UV clothing slows down the sun's UV rays more than ordinary clothing, which typically protects with a factor of 10-15.

Polyester and nylon are materials well suited to providing sun protection. The UV protection may also come from the fact that some fabrics are particularly tightly woven, so the thickness of the fabric increases the UV protection. Other commonly used methods are adding UV protection to the colouring or in the chemical finishing.

The sun protection may disappear as the clothes are washed or worn. Therefore, it’s important to follow the washing instructions on the clothes, in order to preserve the UV effect for as long as possible.

Some clothes are also labelled with a UV standard 801 or an EN 13758-2.

What does UV standard 801 and EN 13758-2 mean?

UV Standard 801

The number of rays that can penetrate textiles is called the Ultraviolet Protection Factor - UPF. In UV standard 801, you can see how high a UPF factor the clothing has, and therefore know how well it protects you from UV rays. In the displayed UV standard 801 it says 80, which means that the clothes have an UPF of 80. If the clothes have an UPF factor 50, which matches the SPF in sunscreen, then 1/50 - 2% of the sun's rays can penetrate the fabric.

In clothing marked with UV Standard 801 there are reservations that the UV factor can reduce when the clothing is used and washed.

EN 13758-2

This shows the protective properties against UVA + UVB solar radiation in clothing textiles. It can be difficult to determine how high a factor you need; therefore, the below chart shows the extent to which UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) UV clothing protects.

UPF	Protection	% UV block
15-24	😐	93,3-95,8
25-39	😊	96-97,4%
40-50+	😄	97,5-98+%

Buy UV clothing and UV workwear before you get burned!

Now that you know about the effective sun protection you can achieve by using UV clothing, we can tell you a little bit about what UV clothing and UV workwear we stock at Cheap-workwear.com. We have workwear, casual wear, golf wear and outdoor clothing. Some are for women and men, while others are for kids.

Protect yourself from the sun with a cap and sunglasses

If you are light-haired, have fine hair, or hair that’s starting to thin at the top, then you need to take extra care not to get sunburned on your scalp. You can do this effectively with a cap or a large hat, available in many variations for work, leisure, golf, hunting or simply for an active outdoor lifestyle.

The sun can make it hard to see clearly, which is why you automatically squint to protect your eyes. With safety glasses / sunglasses, you can see more clearly and relax your eyes at the same time. This is how you come to understand the comfort that wearing sunglasses provides for both work and leisure. See the selection of safety glasses and sunglasses here.

An alternative to sunglasses is a visor cap, which is a crownless cap with a brim. A visor cap is especially well known on the golf course.

Along with this information on sunscreen supplements, we still ask you to apply sunscreen in places where UV clothing, caps and visor caps don’t protect you.