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Sun Dress
Barrow: Offering a line of clothing that provides protection from the downside of solar energy.
Photo by Wheeler/Minneapolis Star Tribune
A native of sun-splashed Australia who now resides in Minneapolis, John Barrow (MBA 1989) has a fashion tip for Americans: cover up, mates. Seriously. Skin-cancer awareness and protective measures are much more advanced Down Under than Up Top in the United States, and that’s the inspiration behind Barrow’s apparel company, Coolibar (www.coolibar.com). While ordinary clothing does offer a modicum of protection, “Coolibar’s clothing is manufactured to maximize sun protection, using polyester fabrics and microfibers with embedded UVA and UVB titanium dioxide blockers,” explained the Sydney Morning Herald (December 7, 2011). “The range is designed to look and feel like everyday clothing while shielding people from cancer-causing UV rays.”
Dermatologists treating patients 50 and older have told Barrow that this cohort often ignores doctors’ recommendations that they use sunscreen. “We wanted to super-focus on this customer, who sort of has this health problem…and is not going to want to shop at a discount store,” said Barrow, who expected sales revenues of $15–$20 million in 2011.
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