Ciba Specialty Chemicals: The Skin Cancer Foundation Will Award Its Seal of Recommendation to UV-Protective Laundry Products.

Business & Health Editors

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2000

Wash sun protection into your tee-shirts, pants, and sports clothes. It doesn't sound possible, does it? But it is. A new laundry treatment is capable of doing just that. This revolutionary new approach to sun protection is so effective that The Skin Cancer Foundation's prestigious Seal of Recommendation will be granted to manufacturers who add a new UV-protective ingredient to their laundry products.

The availability of the Foundation's Seal was announced to the detergent industry by The Skin Cancer Foundation at a cocktail reception held today as part of the American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS) Meeting. Hubert T. Greenway, Jr., MD, who is Chairman of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery at the Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, and a member of the Foundation's Medical Council, spoke to the meeting participants about the various ways people can protect themselves from the sun. The reception was hosted by Ciba Specialty Chemicals, manufacturer of Ciba TinosorbRFD, a new UV-protective fabric treatment.

How much protection can you get by washing your outdoor clothing with a product containing this new treatment? Look for the Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF). The UPF measures the reduction in the amount of solar radiation that is transmitted to the skin. When a fabric has a UPF of 15, for example, only 1/15th of ultraviolet (UV) radiation penetrates the fabric. Amazingly, the more you wash, the better it gets. After five washings, the UPF reaches 15; after ten washings, the rating goes to 30.

This is one case where "older" is an improvement on "newer." Mothers will be sending children off to camp with well-worn, well-washed clothes, and golfers will pull their oldest shirts out of the drawer before going to spend the day on the course.

This year, more than 1.3 million new cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed. Almost all of them could be prevented. "The sun is the cause of more than 90 percent of skin cancers," stressed Dr. Greenway, "so sun protection is truly skin cancer protection. Unprotected sun exposure is also the main reason that skin looks old before its time, showing wrinkles and a leathery texture."

The Foundation inaugurated the Seal of Recommendation for sun-protective products in 1979, and the Seal has played a big part in increasing the market for high SPF sunscreens. Starting today, manufacturers of laundry products will also be able to apply. If the Seal of Recommendation appears on a package, the consumer can be assured that the product meets the rigorous criteria set by the Foundation's Photobiology Committee and that the UPF level indicated can be achieved.

The importance of clothing has long been stressed in the Foundation's public education campaigns. Today, in New York, the American Academy of Dermatology presents its Gold Triangle Award for community service to The Skin Cancer Foundation for its Sun-Protection Clothing Campaign, Get Smart! Go Under Cover.

The Skin Cancer Foundation is the only organization concerned solely with the world's most common malignancy. The Seal of Recommendation is one of the ways in which it is working to increase public awareness of the importance of preventing sun-induced damage to the skin. For more information contact the Foundation at 1-800-SKIN-490 or go to its website, www.skincancer.org.