How to care for clothing made to block the sun

Why care changes what fabric stops

The protection a fabric gives is not fixed on the day it is made. ARPANSA, Australia’s radiation protection agency, notes that cotton often improves after its first wash, but that after numerous washes a garment may gradually fade and wear, and protect less. The label wording required by AS/NZS 4399:2020 says protection may be reduced if the material is wet, stretched, worn or exposed to chemicals.

Laboratories take this seriously. The American practice ASTM D6544 prepares fabric for testing with rounds of laundering, simulated sunlight and chlorinated pool water, to stand in for two years of seasonal use. Its summary says that the ultraviolet resistance of a textile is dynamic, and constantly changes.

Read the label first

A care label tells you the most a garment can take. The international symbols are set out in ISO 3758:2023, which covers washing, bleaching, drying and ironing at home, and professional cleaning. Each symbol shows the most severe treatment a garment can take without lasting damage, so the label is a limit, not a target.

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission’s Care Labeling Rule asks for labels that give regular care instructions, are attached permanently and stay legible for the useful life of the garment. The label is meant to outlast many summers, so keep it, and check it before a new kind of wash.

Washing

For most Rezzella pieces the label says the same few things. Wash cold, and turn the piece inside out so its outer face rubs less against the rest of the load. Tie drawcords and close zips first, as the labels on the Deck Short and the Alpine Quarter Zip ask.

Leave out bleach, and leave out fabric softener wherever the label says so. Some fabrics are treated to absorb more ultraviolet, and SunSmart, the sun safety programme in Victoria, advises following the care instructions closely on any treated fabric.

Drying and stretch

Our labels say line dry and never tumble dry. A knit that has been pulled out of shape lets more light through, and ARPANSA notes that stretching a knitted fabric opens the spaces in it. The label on the Knit Polo says dry flat or on a line, so the knit’s own weight does not pull it long while it dries.

After the sea and the pool

Chlorinated pool water is one of the three exposures ASTM D6544 uses to age fabric before testing, alongside washing and sunlight. Rinsing a piece in cool fresh water after a swim, in the pool or the sea, takes the chlorine and the salt out before they dry into the fabric.

Wet fabric often lets more sun through. SunSmart notes that most fabrics protect less when wet, so a piece that dries quickly spends less of the day that way.

When a piece has done its work

Fabric wears out in places you can see. Hold the piece up to bright light, as SunSmart’s guidance suggests: where it has thinned at the shoulders, the elbows or the seat, light comes through, and ultraviolet may too. SunSmart also notes that old, threadbare or faded clothing may offer less protection over time.

The UV card in your order works here as well. Slip it under one layer of an older piece in full sun and compare it with a card in the open, as we explain in how to do the shirt test at home. If the card under the fabric darkens, more sun is getting through than when the piece was new.

Care for Rezzella pieces

Every product page lists the care for that piece. The Sun Tee and the Sun Hoodie wash cold and inside out, and line dry, with no bleach and no tumble dryer. One piece you wear for years beats five you replace, and gentle washing is most of what that takes.