When you buy foreign made products you do NOT know if they are safe for your baby. Pepeny wants only the very best for you. As Paul Spiteri of Stretchtex says:

I am the Technical and Development Manager for Stretchtex, the manufacturer of top quality Ultraviolet Radiation protection fabrics.

To achieve the Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) of 50+ on nylon/lycra fabrics we DO NOT USE ANY CHEMICALS. A lot of manufacturers of fabrics that claim to be UPF50+ use chemicals to treat their fabrics. However, they do not publicise this fact.

Stretchtex is proud to tell everyone who uses our UPF 50+ nylon/lycra fabrics that chemical treatments are not used on our fabrics to achieve a high UPF rating. Our fabrics have the maximum UPF rating because of the sun protective fibres and the tight knitting construction within our fabrics. The controlled consistency with knitting of our fabrics ensures that there are minimal deviations from the mean quality. This is where Stretchtex is so far ahead of any competitors.

Stretchtex supplies nylon /lycra fabric to Pepeny for their Prestige and Premium Pepeny shades. Pepeny has insisted that the fabric for these top quality UPF shades for babies must not have any chemical treatment for UVR protection. We empathise with their concerns. No-one knows whether there are long term effects from the ingestion of these chemicals (and how do you stop a baby from putting things into their little mouths?)

So, I want every mother to know that when they buy a Pepeny, made from Stretchtex fabric, the UPF 50+ is NOT achieved through using chemical treatment. You can have confidence in Stretchtex. We are proud to be Australian and providing the best UVR protection with our Australian made fabrics. Yes, you may be able to buy cheaper, but you won't buy better!

So, when you buy a Pepeny Prestige or Pepeny Premium you are guaranteed that there are no chemical additives to provide the UPF.

At Pepeny we have the highest standards of quality control and we do not hide information in small print. We make it clear that you have to adjust the Pepeny to ensure that your baby is shaded. We make it clear that scattered or reflected radiation may get around the UPF50+ protection of the fabric.

Unfortunately, there are brands of sunshades for prams, pushchairs and strollers that do not have our high standards of production or ethics. So, rather than tell you which manufacturers may be misleading you, we ask you to examine the packaging and draw your own conclusions!

1. Does the packaging refer to 99%...or any % of protection from UVR?
Percentages are NOT accepted by any radiation advisory body as valid. If the packaging quotes anything other than Ultraviolet Protection Factor UPF LOOK CLOSER to find out what they are hiding.

2. Is ANY PART of the shade quoted as 70% or less?
There is a relationship between 70% reduction in UVR transmission and UPF......70% is approximately UPF3. Yes it is! The packaging may even have this hidden away in a note somewhere!

3. If any part of the shade is LESS than UPF15 ask yourself is this is good enough for your baby.
Don't take a risk! UPF and SPF ratings have a good correlation. You would not expect to use an SPF cream for yourself of less than 15, would you?

4. Do they say that their claims to UPF ratings are confirmed by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (see www.arpansa.gov.au)?
You can check any claims directly with ARPANSA....You will find that Pepeny is the ONLY manufacturer that has EVERY BATCH of fabric tested BY ARPANSA. This is expensive but guarantees Pepeny's quality protection.

5. Examine the sunshades VERY closely! Can you access your baby IMMEDIATELY if there is a problem?
Many shades are tied to the pushchair and enclose your baby. Test how long it takes to undo fasteners and access your baby in an emergency.

6. Check the construction of the sunshade. If there is a frame, can any protective cap be removed by inquisitive fingers? If it can, is there a sharp wire exposed? Or, if there is NO protective cap, is it just a plastic flap that the wire will work through?
Pepeny has complained DIRECTLY to competitors about their shoddy products. We are being sued around the world because we are showing retailers the shoddy products and telling retailers that they need to consider whether these products are 'fit for purpose'.

We want to hear from you about products that you think are fantastic.....and about products that have misled you into thinking that they give GOOD UVR protection to your baby. If you have ditched the packaging GO AND ASK YOUR RETAILER to show you the packaging......LOOK CAREFULLY. Then contact Pepeny askus@pepeny.com and tell us what you discover!!!