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What is "Ultraviolet Protection Factor UPF" - Definition & Explanation

The UPF rating indicates how effective a fabric is at blocking out solar ultraviolet radiation from reaching the skin. UPF ratings range from 15 to 50 with higher ratings indicating more effective blocking and therefore better protection for the wearer of a garment. Fabrics that test higher than UPF 50 are rated as UPF50+. UPF testing involves exposing a fabric to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and measuring how much is tranmitted through the sample. Different wave-lengths of radiation in the UVR spectrum have different effects on human skin and this is taken into consideration when calculating the UPF rating. Factors that contribute to the UPF rating of a fabric are: *Composition of the yarns (cotton, polyester, etc) *Tightness of the weave or the knit (tighter improves the rating) *Color (darket colors are generally better) *Stretch (more stretch lowers the rating) *Moisture (many fabrics have lower ratings when wet) *Condition (worn and faded garments may have reduced ratings) *Finishing (some fabrics are treated with UV absorbing chemicals)

Some other terms

Some more terms:

Moiré Finish (watered effect)
A wavy, rippled or watered appearance on a woven rib fabric and that is produced by the action of heat and heavy pressure from rollers. NOTE: The appearance is caused by differences in the...
Wet-laid
Formation of a non-woven fabric by suspending fibers in water to disperse them evenly. The suspension is poured onto a moving screen allowing the water to pass through and leaving a fiber web, which...
Tweed
A term broadly applied to the sturdier types of fabricsmade of the coarser grades of wool. Tweed fabricsoriginally derived their interest from the coloreffectsobtained by mixing stock-dyedwools. More...
Spinnerette
The device (similar to a showerhead) which forms strands of filament as molten polymer is pumped through. It is at this stage that the fiber cross section, fiber size and the number of filaments in a...
Section Warping
a) Yorkshire Warping, Scotch Warping and Silk-System Warping A two-stage machine method of preparing a warp on beam and that consists of: 1. winding the warp in sections onto a reel (drum, mill or...

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