Is sunscreen clothing a "black technology" for clothing or a harvest of "sunscreen anxiety"? Growth | Brand | Performance | Technology | Gong Yan | UV | Sunscreen | Sunscreen Clothing

This summer, many parts of the country continued to experience high temperatures, with some areas reaching temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Under the scorching sun, sales of sunscreen clothing have surged.

What is the sun protection efficacy of sunscreen clothing? What is the future trend of this rapidly growing market? Xinhua Vision reporters conducted research.

"Sunscreen clothes are too popular this year"

"Riding an electric bike to and from work and walking to the grassroots every day, my face and neck are all sunburned, red and painful." Mr. Li, a civil servant from Binzhou, Shandong, paid attention to "physical sunscreen" for the first time this year and purchased a brand sunscreen jacket for 199 yuan.

Not long ago, Ms. Wang, a senior executive of a technology company in Shanghai, bought sunscreen clothes for her entire family. "This year, sunscreen clothes are too popular. Many people are wearing them on bicycles and walking. Some girls wrap themselves tightly around their bodies. My husband, who used to not even use sunscreen, also said he wants to buy a sunscreen."

This summer, high temperatures have had a significant impact on the lives of ordinary people. In addition to preventing heatstroke and heatstroke, media and medical experts repeatedly remind people to pay attention to sun protection. The market for sunscreen clothing, which was originally mainly consumed by outdoor workers and young women, has rapidly expanded to the general public. The reporter saw that many delivery guys have self funded equipment such as sunscreen sleeves, masks, and sunscreen clothes.

According to JD data, the sales of sunscreen clothing have recently increased by more than 50% month on month; According to Tmall data, during this year's "6.18" period, the transaction volume of new sunscreen products in the clothing category increased by 180% year-on-year. According to the prospectus data of outdoor brand "Jiaoxia", the market size of sunscreen clothing has increased from 45.9 billion yuan in 2016 to 61.1 billion yuan in 2021, and will exceed 70 billion yuan in 2023.

Yao Peng, Senior Communication Director of ANTA Group, stated that the overall online sales of sunscreen clothing in the sports footwear and clothing industry have seen double-digit growth this summer. A salesperson from an outdoor brand at Beijing Contemporary Mall told reporters that in previous years, the majority of people who bought sunscreen clothes were young women. From this year's sales situation, there have been more men, elderly people, and children, and some sizes have sold out.

Can sun protection clothing provide sun protection?

On social media, the topic of whether sunscreen clothes are clothing "black technology" or harvesting "sunscreen anxiety" continues to be hot. Some people say that wearing clothes is too stuffy; Some people say that ordinary clothes are just as sunscreen; Some people also say it is indeed effective, as sunscreen clothing creates a noticeable color difference between the blocked and uncovered skin.

So, what is the sun protection efficacy of sunscreen clothing? What is the basic technical principle?

Experts say that the first step is to clarify the concepts of UVA and UPF. "The ultraviolet rays that reach the surface are mainly the long wave black spot effect ultraviolet rays, which are the main cause of sun tanning," said Yang Lin, Director of the New Materials Research and Development Department of Shandong Textile Science Research Institute. "UPF is the UV protection index, which represents the material's ability to protect against UV radiation," said Gong Yan, a professor at Beijing Institute of Fashion.

According to the current national standard "Evaluation of UV Protection Performance of Textiles" in our country, when the UPF of the sample is greater than 40 and the UVA transmittance is less than 5%, it can be called a "UV protection product".

Gong Yan said that if you see UPF40 on the label of the sunscreen suit, it means that 1/40 of the ultraviolet rays can pass through the sunscreen suit. The industry generally believes that a UPF value of 50 is the highest level of protection, and exceeding this value will not actually have a stronger protection effect.

Yang Lin said that sunscreen clothing mainly uses several methods such as using anti UV additives, anti UV fibers, or enhancing fabric density in the fabric to absorb, reflect, and scatter UV rays, reducing the penetration of UV rays into clothing and achieving sun protection.

"From the perspective of fabric materials, polyester fiber, nylon, polypropylene, and some specially treated natural fibers have good UV protection performance." Gong Yan introduced. Yang Lin stated that the number of washes can affect the sun protection performance of some sun protection clothing. It is recommended to label the recommended number of washes or recommended usage time on the product.

Don't blindly worship "big names" and "high prices"

With the rapid growth of the market, some advertisements for sunscreen clothing have been heavily labeled with "technology", and prices have also skyrocketed. The reporter conducted a patent search on Tianyancha using the keyword "sunscreen clothing" and found 158 valid patents, including 87 patents in the "design" category. On a certain shopping platform, the reporter found two sunscreen clothes priced above 2000 yuan. When asked by customer service if they were using high-end technology for such pricing, they only received vague responses such as "our high cost performance", "new light luxury", and "selected quality".

"Under sunlight, it quickly changes color." "Sunscreen clothing made of xylitol." "One second heat dissipation instantly cools the upper body." "It effectively avoids more than 20 types of mosquitoes, with a mosquito repellent rate of 97.06%." How do you understand these seemingly "fancy" functions? "? Regarding this, Yang Lin said that adding photosensitive color changing, contact cooling, or mosquito repellent materials can give textiles color changing, cooling, and mosquito repellent functions to a certain extent, but the evaluation of their performance still needs to be based on relevant standards.

Industry insiders believe that sunscreen clothing focuses on sun protection, and on this basis, there will be more products that meet consumer aesthetics and are combined with other functional needs such as wind and rain protection, as well as lighter, more breathable, and more comfortable fabrics in the future. Consumers do not need to blindly worship big brands and high prices, and brands should also squeeze out more marketing water and have more technological content.

Sunscreen clothing has relatively poor moisture absorption and breathability, and long-term wear may lead to skin problems such as prickly heat and eczema in hot and humid environments. This problem is gradually being solved through technological progress. Gong Yan said that some brands have adopted new fiber materials and textile technologies, such as blending polyester fibers with spandex, or using nanotechnology to create a microporous structure on the surface of clothing, thereby improving breathability.

Yang Lin said that high-tech sun protection clothing, such as thermal and humidity comfortable sun protection clothing based on nanomaterials, intelligent electronic textile based intelligent sun protection clothing that can monitor physiological parameters, and shape memory material based temperature and humidity responsive sun protection clothing, are expected to enter people's lives. Gong Yan said that the enhancement of sustainable development awareness will drive the sun protection clothing market towards a more environmentally friendly direction, which may involve the production or use of biodegradable ingredients through recycled fibers.

"Consumers should be reminded that sunscreen clothing is only one of the auxiliary means of sun protection, and other sun protection measures such as using sunscreen, sun hats, sunglasses, etc. are equally important. In environments with strong sunlight, multiple sun protection methods should be combined to enhance the protective effect." Gong Yan said.