Sun Safety & Children's Swimwear

Swimwear Sun Safety

We want children to enjoy their time in the sun, while being safe and comfortable in our children's swimwear, which is why we prioritise sun protection in our fabrics and designs.

Little Red Fish uses fabrics that are independently tested and rated as UPF50+

A rating of UPF 50 is the highest rating available, and means only 1/50th or 2% of the UV rays will penetrate through the clothing, thus giving a protection factor of 98% of where the fabric is in contact on the body.

UPF stands for Ultraviolet Protection Factor, and the rating indicates how much of the sun's UV radiation is absorbed by the fabric (and will not reach your skin). The higher the UPF rating, the more you are protected.

There are three categories for sun protective clothing:

  • Good UV Protection: UPF 15 to 24
  • Very Good UV Protection: UPF 25 to 39
  • Excellent UV Protection: UPF 40 to 50 blocks 97% - 99% of harmful UV radiation.

At Little Red Fish we do not treat our fabrics with chemicals to achieve their sunsafe properties. The high sun-safe factor of our children's swimwear fabric is achieved by the denseness of the weave (or knit) of the fabric.

Sun safe tips for children

Sunshine is a great way to get healthy doses of vitamin D. However we all understand the dangers of repeated unprotected exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays, and more importantly, the long term damage that burn events can cause. UV exposure can cause skin damage, eye damage, immune system suppression, and skin cancer.

It's important to teach our children how to enjoy fun in the sun safely.

One of the best ways to protect children is to cover up, and shield their delicate skin from UV rays.

Things we suggest encouraging your children to do are:

  • Wear sun safe swimwear at the beach and by the pool.
  • Wear a hat.
  • Use a reputable sunscreen on exposed skin.
  • Wear UV protective sunglasses.
  • Avoid being in full sun during peak sunshine times like 11am-3pm (check your daily UV forecast)

Some of this information was sourced from kidshealth.org and various other reputable sunsafe sites.