SolarVeil Shocker

SolarVeil fabric had been coveted among the babywearing community since it's lightweight and breathability made it perfect for summer baby carriers.  One of the added benefits that most people loved about this fabric was it's ability to also offer sun protection despite it's open weave.  So you can imagine my surprise when I just came across an article that said not only does Solarveil fail to offer the claimed 90-95% protection against UV rays, but in fact it offers NO protection at all!

The article was just a short blurb published in the Product Reviews section of Goodhousekeeping.com and can be read in it's entirety here.  I'm not sure how old this article is, but I am assuming it is not new since Solarveil fabric has been discontinued for some time now.  Now I have to wonder if this is the reason this fabric disappeared from the market.

While Solarveil is still a lightweight airy fabric that will be cool for summer, many people are purchasing these carries believing that they can function in place of sunblock.  Both the people making and using these baby carriers are victims of a company that sold their product under false pretenses.  The company clearly claimed their product had a high UPF rating and the small WAHM businesses unknowingly passed along false information.

Now if you are one of the lucky people who just get their hands on a Solarveil carrier, don't panic!  These are still going to be arguably the coolest baby carrier you can find on the market for summer babywearing.  They are still going to be great for the pool and dry super fast, just make sure you put some sunscreen on your baby when you go out and don't rely on your carrier to protect their sensitive skin.

Update:

Some people have commented that they used SolarVeil without any other sun protection and they believe it totally works since their children never burned.  I think some people believe that not burning is the same as sun protection, and that is not the case.  If you simply want to prevent a burn, even a standard white T-shirt will do that, but it will not block enough of the UV rays to actually protect your skin from the damaging affects of the sun.  Also, UVB rays are the ones that burn your skin, but UVA are the most damaging and cause skin cancer and those are just as strong at noon as they are at 6pm, but they don't burn you, so it is easy to get too much exposure to UVA rays when you think you are safe.

If you have questions about UV rays, I would highly recommend checking out this link on the Skin Cancer Foundation website.  I am very glad that SolarVeil was able to stop many babies from being burned, but please do not let it lure you into a false sense of actually being protected.  Many fabrics are capable of casting enough of a shadow to prevent a burn, but that is not the same as offering UV protection.  I believe these results are accurate and shared them because this is something I feel is extremely important for people to be aware of.

Also, after reading the above mentioned article, I felt it was necessary to make sure that the SolarWeave fabric we use for our Kalea Baby Water Ring Slings are in fact providing the UPF 50+ protection that it claims and that I am accurate in restating that on our website.  I was able to confirm that SolarWeave has been tested by the International UV Testing Laboratories (IUVTL) and has certified the UPF 50+ rating.

SolarWeave fabrics Block more than 98% of the sun's damaging UVA and UVB rays.  It is lightweight, washable, breathable and cottony soft. Solarweave rates Excellent UV Protection.  UVBLOCK certified for certain protection after laundering.  All colors are tested and meet or exceed AATCC 183  and ASTM D6544 & ASTM D6603 Standards; are certified by the International UV Testing Laboratories; and are rated UPF 50+ (Ultraviolet Protection Factor 50+)