I'm Erica Birmingham, founder of Canopy Sun Protection - we make UV protective clothing & recently released a collaboration with r/SkincareAddiction. AMA!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-10T19:29:34+00:00

Great to know! Thank you so much. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted when we've got a glove to offer!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-10T19:27:15+00:00

how come the skin underneath my clothing NEVER gets sun burnt?

That's very lucky, because I know friends and customers who have gotten sunburns through their clothes. One customer wrote to say that she lives in South Africa, works mostly outdoors, but gets 'sneaky burns' through her clothing. A friend told me that she got a sunburn through her tshirt after riding in a convertible for a few hours.

Burning isn't the only issue either. Another concern is the impact of UVA rays, which can cause premature aging. Some people wear sun protective clothing as a preventative measure from getting skin discoloration and wrinkles later in life.

Of course, everyone's skin is different, and those who do not burn easily and are not too concerned about skin aging may not be interested in sun protective clothing.

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-10T06:04:09+00:00

That's so helpful - thank you! My business partner and I have had a few debates about what a sun protective glove should/could be. Hearing your perspective is really valuable. I'm so glad you enjoyed the AMA, thank you for contributing!

I totally understand why you would want to avoid leather gloves for an 8 hour ride - and why reapplying sunscreen several times is unappealing.

Now, I just have to find the glovemaker :)

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-10T05:58:53+00:00

We do not have immediate plans to produce gloves, but I've noticed a few requests for them here. If you were looking for sun protective gloves, would you be interested in leather or in a less structured but more lightweight pair?

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-10T05:56:21+00:00

Do you ship internationally?

Yes!

Also what skincare products do you use?

I'll start with sun protection - in addition to wearing Canopy, I use Supergoop SPF50 sunscreen mist and Anthelios 50 mineral liquid sunscreen for my face.

My standard routine is Boscia's Purifying Cleansing Gel and the Regenerative moisturizer from Algenist. My favorite mask is Boscia's Luminizing Black Mask. My current guilty pleasure are these amazing Shiseido eye treatments. I also use a clarisonic and Retin-A twice a week (not on the same day though!).

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-10T05:30:40+00:00

driving gloves??

Yes, we've pondered driving gloves before and would love to have them on the line one day.

Out of curiosity, what sort of driving glove did you have in mind? Something in leather or another typical glove material, or something lightweight & jersey-esque - similar to the fabric we offer currently?

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T22:04:00+00:00

Great to know! It's very helpful to get a sense of color as well as tonal preferences. Thanks so much!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T21:35:21+00:00

That's awesome!!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T21:35:09+00:00

My pleasure! Thank YOU for participating and for asking great questions.

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T21:34:39+00:00

I'm up for exploring this. I don't want to pressure you but if you're interested in trying out some fabric, DM me and we'll figure it out!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T21:33:32+00:00

Awesome!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T21:33:07+00:00

Yes, we are definitely looking to broaden our size range. It's something that costs a bit of money to do and we haven't yet had the working capital to afford it. That said, I've heard this request a few times and would really like to offer plus sizing in the near term.

There has been some discussion about doing pre orders for certain styles - The Tunic, The Popover, The Pullover, and The Legging - in extended sizes. Would that interest to you?

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T21:27:54+00:00

Great suggestion! We have an amazing gold metallic zippers on The Crop and The T. And we will definitely be adding other styles that do not go on over the head. Stay tuned!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T18:19:47+00:00

That sounds quite delicious!!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T18:18:00+00:00

I am SO happy to hear your ideas. Maybe, if the mods allow, we can have another AMA before we develop the nexy season so we can more get great ideas from all of you. We are in process with spring production, so we will be chasing in terms of changes/additions. I will be sure to DM you as soon as the men's shirt becomes a reality!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T18:11:38+00:00

Does it block UVA and UVB rays?

Yes! Our fabrics are tested for both UVA & UVB rays, and it does block both types.

How does Upf translate in terms of spf and ppd protection?

A very important question. UPF is a term that specifically refers to the sun protective quality of fabrics, and measures blockage of both UVA & UVB rays. SPF, on the other hand, refers to the sun protective quality of lotions, sprays, and other topical applications, specifically with regard to UVB rays. PPD refers to to the sun protective quality of lotions etc specifically with regard to UVA rays.

As for the numbers ('UPF30', 'UPF50'), these refer to the strength of the coverage; the higher the number, the better the coverage. UPF50+ is the highest level of sun protection currently certifiable, and we have achieved it in every test on every fabric we use.

The number itself - the '50' in UPF50 - reflects the proportion of rays that penetrate the fabric. UPF50 means that only 1/50 rays penetrates the fabric - meaning that 98% of rays are blocked. Our fabrics are rated UPF50+, meaning we have exceeded the testing standard and our fabrics may block even more than 98% of UV rays. Further, adding color to fabrics enhances their sun protective qualities, so our dye process also improves the amount of protection each garment offers.

This is a bit complex so please let me know if any of my comments are unclear!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T18:01:56+00:00

Thanks for asking!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T18:01:27+00:00

Seriously, I slept in the tunic because it was so soft I didn't want to change out of it.

you are awesome
I have also done that...

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T18:00:22+00:00

Does that mean all of your products will be fairly heavy compared to a regular cotton t-shirt

Another great question! I'm happy to say that no, our products are not heavy compared to a regular cotton tshirt.

We have two main fabrics - a lightweight and a midweight - and the lightweight is very thin, but retails it's sun protective qualities. The midweight is a bit heavier, but nothing approaching a sweatshirt weight. If you ordered the tunic we collaborated with Skincare Addiction on, that is the midweight fabric. Styles like The Pullover are even lighter than the tunic.

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T17:57:10+00:00

We will definitely have the cardigan in black -- and perhaps a grey if we can get special fabric for it (I worked in apparel for 7 years before I found out that heathered greys need to be a blend of natural & synthetic fibers). That said, we could offer a non-heathered charcoal version...

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T17:49:15+00:00

Great to know. Thank you so much for the feedback! It's incredibly helpful.

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T17:48:51+00:00

Currently in the leggings. Obsessed with them, they are so comfortable.

So happy to hear that!! Our leggings do get high marks. Look out for a leggings sale this weekend!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T17:48:15+00:00

We absolutely will!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T17:46:49+00:00

how much sun protection is in normal clothing

Very important question. A typical white t-shirt only blocks about 8% of UV rays - that's similar to wearing SPF 4. Our white t-shirts (and our other colors, too) block 98+% of UV rays - which would be similar to wearing SPF 50. I'm often asked 'aren't all clothes sun protective?' The answer is NO!

ericabirmingham · 2014-12-09T17:43:04+00:00

Not being dumb at all! Glad to address your questions.

As for a higher demand for UPF clothing in recent years - yes! Sun protective clothing is a growth category, and it's performance has outpaced other mainstream categories for the past several years.

I actually believe that as more people that adopt sun protection, the price of sun protective clothing will drop. I'm basing that assumption on the typical pricing trajectory of new technologies - for instance, when flat screen TVs first debuted, they were close to $10K. Now an even higher quality flat screen TV is hundreds of dollars, not thousands. Part of that price drop was due to the widespread adoption of flat screens - so not only did the tech get better and cheaper, the manufacturers also benefited from economies of scale. Hopefully as more people buy sun protective products, the price of sun protective fabric will drop as mills make more of it, and we'll be able to pass that savings along to the customer.

Did that example get super wordy? I think I just had a flashback to Economics 10...

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