Clothing is a great way to reduce your sun exposure but how do you know the clothing you're buying will keep you safe in the sun?
You look for the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) rating!
In Australia it’s usual for sun protective clothing to be sold with a UPF rating that shows how well a garment can protect a person from the sun. UPF ratings give consumers confidence that the product they are buying will give them effective sun protection.
Material with a UPF rating of 15 would allow 1/15th (6.7%) of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) passing through it, blocking 93.3% of UV. For a person with very fair skin, this may not provide an all-day protection, hence the importance to look for clothing items with UPF of 50 or 50+.
ARPANSA swing tags carry the Sun Protection Certification Trade Mark, which is an Australian government trademark used to identify sun protective products. If a garment carries this trademark it means that laboratory testing has been done by ARPANSA, and we are satisfied that the materials used to construct the product will provide the amount of sun protection stated.
ARPANSA issues millions of UPF rating swing tags each year.
The tags comply with the Australian standard for sun protective clothing, AS 4399:2020 Sun protective clothing - Evaluation and classification.
How can you use ARPANSA swing tags?
If your company wishes to use ARPANSA tags on your products, there is a 3-step process:
- Test your products at ARPANSA (test reports by other providers are not accepted)
- Apply for a licence to use the Sun Protection Certification Trade Mark
- Order tags according to the results on test reports
More information
To find out more about using ARPANSA swing tags see Sun Protection Trade Mark Information.
To find out more about the standard for sun protective clothing see our Australian and New Zealand sun protective clothing standard page.
Buyer's Guide for Sun Protection
ARPANSA has produced a Buyer's Guide to help consumers find products that claim to offer personal protection against solar ultraviolet radiation.
