SUN PROTECTED FROM OPTIMALLY DESIGNED FAB RICS

A rising incidence worldwide of skin cancer has been observed for year s. A high cumulative exposure to UV radiation is a major factor in the development of such neoplasms. Suitable protective measures are there fore becoming increasingly important. Textiles provide simple, effecti ve and medically safe protection against UV radiation. At present, how ever, in Europe - in contrat to Australia the UV protection factor (UP F) for summer textiles is not stated. It is a largely unknown fact tha t by far not all textiles offer sufficient protection. Our goal was to study the factors which determine the UV transmission of fabrics and, based on these findings, to design materials which provide enhanced p rotection. A spectrophotometric method was used to determine the UV tr ansmission by fabrics made of cotton, silk, polyester and viscose. The UV protection factors of the fabrics were computed on the basis of th e transmission data. The UV protection factor is dependent on the type of fibre, yarn and surface design, weight per square metre, moisture content, colour,finishing method and degree of wear. To optimize the U V protection via textiles, a viscose yarn with a low UV transmission w as used. This yarn makes it possible to design light-weight summer fab rics with optimized UV protection. This development will make it possi ble to offer clothing with high UV protection on the European marked. This clothing will not be more expensive than normal products, so that effective prevention should be more available.