Consumers who unwittingly expose themselves to harmful sunrays while in a vehicle will delight in the Suncloth, a patented protective cloth. It began when Sheila Bryan, the product developer, noticed dark spots on her forearm, recalls Edward Bryan. It was sun damage caused by constant exposure to UVB and UVA rays while commuting to work in her car under the California sun. “After some long hard thinking, my wife came up with the idea for Suncloth. We did extensive research and together we refined the product,” Bryan, a corrections officer, explains. “We started selling it to officers and nurses I work with who commute, and we found there was a big market for it. There is nothing else like it so we patented it.”
Suncloths, which attach to seat belts, are available in tropical pink, zebra, leopard, chocolate brown and gray. They are about five inches wide and nine inches tall. One box holds 160 pieces and each Suncloth is packaged in a clear plastic bag with a punch hole for pegboard display. There is no minimum order but Bryan recommends retailers carry a minimum of 25 to 50 pieces, five to 10 of each color, to determine which is the best seller in a given market. Suncloths wholesale for $5 apiece and retail for $17.99 to $19.99, the $5 unit price includes shipping in the lower 48 states. With orders of 160 pieces, the company supplies signs to display with its logo, “Why burn, just cover up,” so customers get an idea of what the product does.