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From ‘Facekinis’ to Arm Sleeves, Sun Protection Gear Sells Out in China Heatwave

People walk across a street as temperatures rise during an unusual heat wave, in Monterrey, Mexico June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril
People walk across a street as temperatures rise during an unusual heat wave, in Monterrey, Mexico June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril
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From ‘Facekinis’ to Arm Sleeves, Sun Protection Gear Sells Out in China Heatwave

People walk across a street as temperatures rise during an unusual heat wave, in Monterrey, Mexico June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril
People walk across a street as temperatures rise during an unusual heat wave, in Monterrey, Mexico June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril

As temperatures hit a record roasting 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across multiple cities in China, how to shield one's skin from the sun and stay cool has become a hot topic in the country.
Accessories such as hats boasting ultraviolet (UV) protection to coverings known as "facekinis" which hide most of the face apart from the eyes are selling out - sported mostly by women seeking head-to-toe protection, Reuters said.
The trend has led to a boom in local brands that focus on sun protection products, such as Bananain, Beneunder and OhSunny.
Other larger brands, such as Anta, Uniqlo , Lululemon and Decathalon have also added clothing such as UV tinted hats and jackets to their local product assortment.
Data from Shanghai-based China Insights Consultancy shows that China's sun protection apparel market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4% from 2021 to 2026, with the market size reaching 95.8 billion yuan ($13.24 billion) in 2026.
"We're concerned about getting sunburned and tanned so we're fully prepared," said a 34-year-old business owner who gave her surname as Hong, referring to her outfit of a hat and arm sleeves as she visited Beijing's downtown tourism area of Qianmen on Thursday.
Many female consumers in east Asia favor fair skin and sun protection products are also popular in neighboring countries such as South Korea. Analysts say the trend has really taken off in China this year.
Data from Alibaba Group's Tmall shopping platform showed that during this year's 618 shopping festival held last month, sales of "new generation" sun protection apparel grew 180% year-on-year, with the number of pieces of sun protection gear purchased per consumer two to three times higher than in previous years.
"Sunscreen blush masks" are also particularly popular, according to Tmall. The bottom half of the mask is white with pink at the top, so it appears the wearer has makeup on from a distance.
Li Hongmei, a 26-year-old Beijing resident, said she's a fan of such masks, and also wears a sun protection jacket when going out.
"During the pandemic I didn't put on makeup often because I'd wear a mask anyway," she told Reuters as she browsed through a rack of sun protection clothing at Adidas. "Now I'm too lazy to return to makeup, I'd rather wear a sun protection mask and go out."

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Santa and Mrs. Claus Use Military Transports to Bring Christmas to Alaska Native Village

Santa Claus arrives at the school in Yakutat, Alaska,, as part of the Alaska National Guard's Operation Santa initiative that brings Christmas to an Indigenous community that has suffered a hardship, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen).
Santa Claus arrives at the school in Yakutat, Alaska,, as part of the Alaska National Guard's Operation Santa initiative that brings Christmas to an Indigenous community that has suffered a hardship, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen).
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Santa and Mrs. Claus Use Military Transports to Bring Christmas to Alaska Native Village

Santa Claus arrives at the school in Yakutat, Alaska,, as part of the Alaska National Guard's Operation Santa initiative that brings Christmas to an Indigenous community that has suffered a hardship, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen).
Santa Claus arrives at the school in Yakutat, Alaska,, as part of the Alaska National Guard's Operation Santa initiative that brings Christmas to an Indigenous community that has suffered a hardship, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen).

Forget the open-air sleigh overloaded with gifts and powered by flying reindeer.
Santa and Mrs. Claus this week took supersized rides to southeast Alaska in a C-17 military cargo plane and a camouflaged Humvee, as they delivered toys to the Tlingit village of Yakutat, northwest of Juneau, The Associated Press reported.
The visit was part of this year’s Operation Santa Claus, an outreach program of the Alaska National Guard to largely Indigenous communities in the nation’s largest state. Each year, the Guard picks a village that has suffered recent hardship — in Yakutat's case, a massive snowfall that threatened to buckle buildings in 2022.
“This is one of the funnest things we get to do, and this is a proud moment for the National Guard,” Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, said Wednesday.
Saxe wore a Guard uniform and a Santa hat that stretched his unit's dress regulations.
The Humvee caused a stir when it entered the school parking lot, and a buzz of “It’s Santa! It’s Santa!” pierced the cold air as dozens of elementary school children gathered outside.
In the school, Mrs. Claus read a Christmas story about the reindeer Dasher. The couple in red then sat for photos with nearly all of the 75 or so students and handed out new backpacks filled with gifts, books, snacks and school supplies donated by the Salvation Army. The school provided lunch, and a local restaurant provided the ice cream and toppings for a sundae bar.
Student Thomas Henry, 10, said while the contents of the backpack were “pretty good,” his favorite item was a plastic dinosaur.
Another, 9-year-old Mackenzie Ross, held her new plush seal toy as she walked around the school gym.
“I think it’s special that I have this opportunity to be here today because I’ve never experienced this before,” she said.
Yakutat, a Tlingit village of about 600 residents, is in the lowlands of the Gulf of Alaska, at the top of Alaska’s panhandle. Nearby is the Hubbard Glacier, a frequent stop for cruise ships.
Some of the National Guard members who visited Yakutat on Wednesday were also there in January 2022, when storms dumped about 6 feet (1.8 meters) of snow in a matter of days, damaging buildings.
Operation Santa started in 1956 when flooding severely curtailed subsistence hunting for residents of St. Mary’s, in western Alaska. Having to spend their money on food, they had little left for Christmas presents, so the military stepped in.
This year, visits were planned to two other communities hit by flooding. Santa’s visit to Circle, in northeastern Alaska, went off without a hitch. Severe weather prevented a visit to Crooked Creek, in the southwestern part of the state, but Christmas was saved when the gifts were delivered there Nov. 16.
“We tend to visit rural communities where it is very isolated,” said Jenni Ragland, service extension director with the Salvation Army Alaska Division. “A lot of kids haven’t traveled to big cities where we typically have Santa and big stores with Christmas gifts and Christmas trees, so we kind of bring the Christmas program on the road."
After the C-17 Globemaster III landed in Yakutat, it quickly returned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, an hour away, because there was nowhere to park it at the village's tiny airport. Later it returned to pick up the Christmas crew.
Santa and Mrs. Claus, along with their tuckered elves, were seen nodding off on the flight back.