Clothing with a UPF rating?

Maybe it's just my dark skin, but do people really tan through clothes? I see this listed on lots of clothing, but have never heard anyone in real life discuss it or shop for it. Shouldn't the UPF of a shirt be infinity? Isn't that why we have farmer's tans?

I worked on a farm during the summers as a kid. one old guy wore a short sleeve button up shirt with suspenders every single day. his clothes got soaked in pesticide once and he had to strip. you could see the tan line where his sleeves stopped, and where the suspenders were.

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you could see the tan line where his sleeves stopped, and where the suspenders were.

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This is the first time I have ever heard of this.

I have an olive skin tone but play on 4 tennis teams around DFW. That means on my the court 5 days a week in Texas throughout the summer. I’m nit worried about burning but would prefer to avoid skin cancer and sunscreen doesn’t work well when you’re sweating that much in 100° heat and full sun.

do you even PFG, bro?

Columbia and Patagonia have lines that have a UPF rating. If you want a company that only does UPF stuff, check out Coolibar.

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It’s easier to wear a dry fit long sleeve shirt with a upf rating at the beach than worry about maintaining reapplications of sunscreen all day. :shrug:

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I get that part, but what role is the UPF rating actually playing here? Do you buy the shirt based upon it? If you don't, will you burn?

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You may not burn, but some of the harmful rays can penetrate clothing and contribute to skin cancer.

At least according to my dermatologist friend.

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So what does the clothing with the SPF ratings do differently?

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but do people really tan through clothes?

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I think the highly breathable fishing or backpacking stuff is the only thing that this has relevance. Your sun exposure would have to be very prolonged for this to make a difference. I guess work clothes for guys who work outside in the heat, too.

Or amplified like on the water (or snow, but, obviously folks aren't wearing lightweight clothes in cold environments, rendered this moot).k

(ETA: And as others have stated, this is more of a skin cancer concern than balance between tanning/burning.)

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I worked on a farm during the summers as a kid. one old guy wore a short sleeve button up shirt with suspenders every single day. his clothes got soaked in pesticide once and he had to strip. you could see the tan line where his sleeves stopped, and where the suspenders were.

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Pretty sure I watched this one.