A friend of mine told me that clothing does not prevent sunburns, neither do umbrellas. He said that most clothes only give limited protection, like SPF 15. He also said that even clothes like jeans or socks would prevent burning.

I thought anything that actually blocked the light - i.e., tightly woven enough that you can't see the light through it (as opposed to say, a loose knit) prevented burning.

Is he correct that one can get burned even if sitting under a black umbrella or wearing jeans?

Thanks

T-shirts usually only have an SPF of 15, but you'd have to be sitting on the equator with a hole in the ozone layer directly above you to get burnt through jeans and a black umbrella.


Filed under: SPF Clothing

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