Looking to the sun for a business idea

Some businessmen use charts to emphasize their point. President John Barrow of St. Louis Park-based retailer Coolibar presented a bikini.

"Does anyone think this is a sun-protective garment you would recommend to patients?" Barrow asked a group of dermatology nurses at a conference.

If Barrow had his way, more Americans would avoid swimwear that exposes a lot of skin to the sun's harsh rays. His business, Coolibar, founded in 2002, sells clothing and hats embedded with chemicals offering an ultraviolet protection factor of 50 or higher.

Coolibar markets to medical professionals who treat people for sun damaged skin and offer patients advice on preventing it.

It all began when Barrow and his wife received repeated requests from a friend to buy sun-protective clothing on their trips to Australia. Barrow's wife suggested there could be a U.S. market for the products.

More Americans are getting skin cancer. Melanoma has increased an average of 3.2 percent a year between 1998 and 2007, according to the National Cancer Institute.

"For most of history, in general, people have used clothing to protect themselves from the elements," Barrow said. "It's really only in the late 20th century that people decided that it was a good thing to take more of their clothes off and get tans."

Coolibar uses two types of chemicals woven into the fabric of its clothes that block out the sun's ultraviolet rays. Zinc oxide is integrated in clothing made of natural materials such as cotton. Titanium dioxide is used for synthetic and polyester fabrics.

The clothing also covers more skin. Golf shirts have attachable sleeves. Extended pop-up collars on a men's shirt protect the neck. Women's swimsuits look like shirts, skirts and tights.

"For us, we're really designing to protect you from the sun," Barrow said. "Most summer clothing is designed to show skin off."

That's why Barrow demonstrated a competitor's revealing bikini at the medical conference, criticizing the small amount of protective fabric as a "ridiculous attempt at sun protection."

Marketing to the medical niche

Coolibar tests the fabric to ensure a protection factor of at least 50.

But some dermatologists believe people are fine wearing clothes with a sun protection factor of 30, which can protect for 15 hours. Dr. Bruce Robinson, a clinical instructor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, said the protection difference between SPF 30 to 50 is small.

Coolibar has 350,000 customers, mostly people with health issues that require sun protection. Sales at Coolibar are expected to increase 30 to 35 percent in its fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, compared with a year ago, the company said. Barrow said annual sales of the privately held business are in the range of $10 million to $20 million a year, but declined to give an exact figure.

Barrow wears Coolibar clothes, but in the past, he has gotten into debates with his children on the clothes they wear outside. Barrow said he believes consumer attitudes are changing.

"These days more and more teenagers are wearing swim shirts to protect themselves," Barrow said. "I think it's getting more acceptable these days."