Wednesday, May 25, 2005

UV protection in Spain

Spanish people have been surprisingly slow to wake up to the dangers of skin cancer caused by excessive exposure to the sun, and until relatively recently it was not uncommon to see families spending long periods on the beach or by the pool without putting protective sun cream on. Many Spaniards continue to use sun cream to get a tan, rather than to protect the skin from burning, and one of the way to distinguish visiting tourists from local Spaniards on the beach (apart from obvious things like language and colouring) is by checking the sun protection factor on their suntan lotion. In general Spanish people use much much lower protection factors than foreign residents or visitors to Spain and many adults suffer skin damage and marks caused by excessive exposure to the sun.

So it is no surprise that the first company in Spain to offer online purchase of a wide range of UV protective clothing has been set up by foreign residents. Solkids, a new Granada based company set up by a family who have lived in Australia and the Far East for many years, offers UV protective clothing for babies and children aged up to 14. All fabrics are SPF 50+ made in New Zealand by "Ozone", a small company which has been designing and making UV protective clothing in New Zealand for 13 years.

Children have less of the skin's protective melanin pigment and so are at a higher risk of incurring skin damage from the sun. Just one sunburn in childhood is estimated to double the risk of getting melanoma later in life. More teenagers and young adults are being diagnosed with skin cancer than ever before, and the number of people with skin cancer in Europe has more than doubled since the early 80s. Skin cancer is now the most common form of cancer in the UK. Each year there are more than 65,000 new cases, and over 2000 deaths due to skin cancer.

According to owner of Solkids, Sarah Barguirdjian, “Having lived many years in Australia and the Far East, wearing sun protective clothing and hats had become a routine part of family life for us. When we came recently to live in Spain, we were surprised by the intensity of the sun, equal to any Australian summer. We also discovered that most parents in Spain are aware of the dangers of sun exposure and are anxious about protecting children’s skin, but found the low supply of UV clothing available poorly designed and over-priced”.

Solkids offers free postage and packaging to all customers in Spain. Anyone interested in consulting their catalogue of UV clothes and accessories should visit their website at http://www.solkids.com.

15 Comments:

Anonymous said...

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5:44 PM  
Anonymous said...

I have always thought UV protective clothing must be quite heavy and cumbersome. And sweaty too. Am I wrong?
Debbie.

8:44 AM  
HELEN said...

I also live in Spain and have two very blonde, fair haired children who love to spend all day out side swimming and playing. It's impossible to keep them protected with sun cream alone and I have found these uv protection suits invaluable. They're worth every cent!

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Posted by HELEN to News from Spain at 5/25/2005 09:31:37 PM

9:42 AM  
Sarah said...

Dear Debbie

I'm afraid you are wrong!
The material used for UV swimwear is very light and quick drying, similar in nature to the materials now used in top quality gym or running clothes.
Infact, it reflects alot of the heat from the suns rays so actually you feel cooler and less sweaty than if wearing nothing at all.
The hats and caps also help prevent heat stroke. Ask any Aussie!
I hope this answers your question.
From Sarah at Solkids

11:20 AM  
Jed said...

Anyone know of a company selling UV protective clothes for adults in Spain? I notice this one only sells for ages up to 14.

My wife and I live on the Costa Brava and love walking. UV protective t-shirts, hats and socks would come in very useful all year round.

Thanks for the information.

3:20 PM  
Anonymous said...

The only company which sells swimwear with UV protection in Spain is called Reefwear. You can buy their product on the Net : www.reef-wear.com. They're selling an english brand called "Lion In The Sun"

6:59 PM  
Anonymous said...

Don't think they sell clothes for adults.

1:46 PM  
Anonymous said...

I don't think there's another company selling UV clothes for adults. Here's a link to a US based site which sells good clothes online.
http://www.sunprecautions.com/cgi-bin/sgdynamo.exe?HTNAME=_home.htm

Failing that, the age 14 clothes for children at www.solkids.com fit a size 10 woman!

2:03 PM  
Anonymous said...

Reefwear sell swimshirt and board shorts for adults. Go and check in the product range.

8:31 PM  
sarah said...

Another company selling UV protective swimwear for kids in Spain is Solkids.
Read the article these posts are responding to!

12:01 PM  
Anonymous said...

www.littleredfish.com is really chic and ships anywhere.

7:12 AM  
Annie said...

We found UV swimwear for our son and my husband on line at The Beach Factory www.beachfactory.com
It saved them getting really badly burnt.

5:23 PM  
Anonymous said...

We got Sposh UV swimwear from the Beachfactory (www.beachfactory.com) as well. UK based but they ship to Europe and the Sposh stuff has more style than some of the other brands.

4:53 PM  
Anonymous said...

I am a mother of 5 little children and I think sun protective clothing should be first line of sunprotection. We have great experience with www.solarblock.nl.
They are based in the netherlands but are distributing for free in Spain. High quality, quick drying, great styles and logo's very sweet.
The uv garments are coming from Australia and are all rated and tested on SPF 50 +.

1:29 PM  
Anonymous said...

Try www.shadysun.com in the USA, delivers anywhere. Also Kristyjuv.com is a brand new womens site dedicated to UV Swim and Active wear made with Soft UV protected Fabrics.

5:42 AM  

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