Coolibar Secures Start Up Funding; Anti-Cancer Clothing Available Late May.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2002

Coolibar LLC announced today it has closed an initial $500,000 round of private equity financing. This funding, combined with bank and trade financing plus initial seed capital, will enable the Minneapolis-based sun-protective clothing company to enter the national market by late May.

"We have exceeded our own expectations by raising our first round of equity capital one month ahead of schedule," said John Barrow, founder and president of Coolibar. "The range of investors -- including prospective customers, dermatologists, pediatricians, pharmacists, direct marketing executives and investment bankers -- demonstrates knowledgeable people's awareness of the need for sun-protective products in the U.S. market and the strength of our business model."

Over the last 25 years melanoma rates have almost tripled in America. According to the National Cancer Institute, American males now have a 1 in 58 lifetime chance of getting melanoma while American females have a 1 in 82 chance of being diagnosed with melanoma.

Coolibar designs and markets high quality, certified sun protection products including clothing, hats, swimwear, sunscreen, sunglasses and shade devices. Coolibar's clothing provides protection from the sun's harmful rays by an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) between 30 and 50, while regular summer clothing has a UPF rating of between 6 and 7. Sun protective clothing also provides better protection than sunscreen because typically, people don't apply enough sunscreen and then don't reapply it as often as they should.

Coolibar was founded in 2001 to bring Australia's world-leading approaches to skin cancer prevention to the American market. The company has extensively redesigned Australian sun-protective clothing styles to meet the tastes and needs of fashion- and health-conscious Americans. For more information about Coolibar, go to www.coolibar.com or call 800/926-6509.