Major flaw in Aussie fashion trends

Dermatologists have warned trendy clothing items worn by millions of Australians during summer provided inadequate protection from the sun’s harmful UV rays.

Skin specialists claim linen shirts, cotton T-shirts and baseball caps only provided 20 per cent of UVA and UVB protection, which was the equivalent of a SPF five rating.

New research by clothing brand Solbari revealed most clothing brands left Australians exposed to increased risks of skin cancer.

The research also found Australians experienced “sun anxiety” and avoided sun exposure during peak UV hours.

Dermatologist Dr Ryan De Cruz said for more than 40 years messaging around the need for SPF 50 plus sunscreen had gotten through to most Australians, but people did not recognise the need for sun protective clothing.

“They assume wearing a baseball cap or a cotton or linen shirt at the beach or when they’re out is good enough,” he said.

“We actually know is that the SPF of most clothing is only about five, which is the equivalent of wearing an SPF of five, so it still allows more than 94 per cent of the UV radiation that causes skin cancer through.”

Dr De Cruz said UPF 50 plus clothing was a good thing for Australians who loved the beach and played a lot of outdoor sports.

“We’re trying to just educate people about the importance of wearing good UPF 50 plus clothing in addition to their sunscreen to give them the best chance of preventing UV radiation and sun damage,” he said.

“Sun protecting clothing when manufactured properly and to Australian standards can be lightweight and breathable,” he said.

“It can be something as simple as wearing a wide brim 50 plus hat to give a bit of shade and in terms of clothing there’s swimwear and long sleeve clothing,” he said.

Melanoma survivor Jess Van Zeil knows the importance of using sun protection after she was diagnosed with a rare ocular melanoma at 22 years of age.

Ms Van Zeil was told she had stage four cancer in 2016 and required several surgeries and immunotherapy treatments to survive after doctors found inoperable tumours on her brain.

Doctors had to remove Ms Van Zeil’s eye in order for her to survive, which led her to doing advocacy work around sun protection and tanning culture.

“For a very long time I refused to go outside at all, I was really nervous to step outside because of the idea of experiencing melanoma again, knowing what I’d gone through and how it changed my life had changed,” she said.

“If I went outside it would be in the later hours of the day when the UV rate was much lower.

“But it also meant I wasn’t getting vitamin D, I was really conscious and cautious and it stopped me doing so much of the activities that I loved doing, like travelling.”

Ms Van Zeil discovered sun protective clothing when she was planning a trip to walk the Kokoda Track with her husband which she said changed her life.

“Having clothing was a big change for me, SPF 50 clothing really made a huge difference and made me feel a lot more confident and comfortable getting outside in the warmer weather in the heat of the sun,” she said.