In the past, Australian sun protection materials have been assessed against several standards including those for sun protective clothing (AS4399:1996 and 2017) and synthetic shade cloth (AS 4174-1994). In 2018 Knitted and woven shade fabrics AS 4174, was published and, for the first time, an assessment of human protection was included for shade materials, characterised by the percentage (%) Ultraviolet Effectiveness (UVE) rating. This standard applies to all knitted and woven shade fabrics including those used in shade sails, umbrellas, tents and gazebos. This is currently the only standard anywhere in the world which specifically rates shade fabrics for human sun protection. The sun protective clothing standard (AS 4399:2020) was updated in 2020 to explicitly exclude the use of a UPF rating for shade materials, reserving the rating for clothing that is worn in close proximity to the skin.
According to the Australian Standard AS 4714, a disclaimer is required to be attached to the product along with the % UVE rating. The disclaimer notes that protection may be less due to design, height and size of shade structures, fabric stretching, sunlight direction, and location of the persons within the shade structure. This recognises that diffuse radiation can be as high as 50% of the ambient UV in the built shade.
ARPANSA has been testing knitted and woven shade fabrics since 2018 and has performed measurements to review the effectiveness of shade fabrics in built shade structures. Data from these measurements will be presented in this talk.