UV Protective Clothing: Educate Yourself Before Buying

OTTAWA, August 1, 2007 - A Competition Bureau inspection of ultraviolet (UV) protective clothing found that most - but not all - UV protective garments live up to their stated levels of protection. The Competition Bureau encourages consumers to read product labels carefully and to educate themselves about the information they provide.

"The Bureau's inspections help ensure that Canadians get what they pay for when buying UV protective clothing," said Andrea Rosen, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Competition. "The Bureau will continue to educate companies and to monitor labelled products and claims in the Canadian marketplace to promote compliance by industry and to ensure a fair and competitive marketplace."

The Bureau conducted inspections at retail stores, manufacturers and distributors across Canada. These inspections revealed that the tags on the great majority of garments were accurate and truthful about the UV protection offered. Throughout this project, the Bureau also worked to educate companies about claims that could be false and misleading under the Textile Labelling Act.

The inspections identified one company from Oakville, Ontario, which sells clothing under the Sunveil Sunwear label, that had tagged all of its garments as providing considerably more UV protection than they actually did. The company took immediate action and removed all UV protection claims from its tags and corporate Web site.

The Bureau urges consumers to learn about the claims made on UV protective clothing and how to decide what level of protection they need. Here are a few helpful tips:

• Clothing specially made to block out UV light should be labelled with an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) rating. A rating of UPF 15 is the lowest level of protection that is labelled on UV protective clothing. This is rated to block 93.3 per cent of the sun's rays;
  
  
• Consumers should assess the prices of garments with different levels of UV protection. It may be that the higher priced garment offers only minimally more protection. For example, clothing labelled UPF 30 blocks 96.7 per cent of the sun's rays while clothing labelled UPF 50 blocks 98 per cent;
  
  
• All clothing provides some protection from ultraviolet light. Denim, for example, provides excellent UV protection but is not normally labelled UV protective;
  
  
• Consumers should also look closely at products with claims such as "all-day protection," "no sun screen required" and "blocks all UV light or rays." These claims have little meaning, since no fabric offers 100 per cent protection from UV light.

For more information about what to look for when purchasing UV protective clothing, please see: Guidance on UV Protective Clothing.

In the course of its examination, the Bureau also identified more than 200,000 garment labels bearing no dealer identification and others bearing improper fibre disclosure or incomplete dealer identification. The dealers have since dealt with the identified problems to the Bureau's satisfaction by correcting the labels in a timely manner.

Labels have two main purposes: to identify the fibre content of the garment and to enable consumers to contact the dealer regarding any concerns about the garment. Label information helps consumers make better-informed purchasing decisions. For more information on dealer identification and fibre content, please see: Guidance on the Labelling of Textiles.

The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency. We contribute to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Marilyne Nahum
Communications Advisor
Competition Bureau
819-953-9760

For general enquiries, please contact:
Information Centre
Competition Bureau
819-997-4282
Toll free: 1-800-348-5358
TDD (hearing impaired): 1-800-642-3844
compbureau@cb-bc.gc.ca