Banning The Rays

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Though Sun Precautions is the pioneer, a slate of smaller companies has emerged, selling their lines over the Internet. Big-name sports-apparel outfits like Patagonia and Columbia Sportswear also sell sun-protective pieces, and catalog behemoth Lands' End has included a small line of about seven sun-protective items in its collection. RIT, the 80-year-old dyemaker, has introduced Sun Guard, a low-cost laundry additive that washes UV protection into clothing. Hughes says he is unfazed by the competition. Only Sun Precautions has clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to market itself as a medical product, and Solumbra has some of the highest sun-protection and durability measurements in the market. "They don't hold to the same ethical rigors we do," he says. And Hughes hasn't got sunburned yet.