Japanese women wanting to avoid the Sun for health or fashion reasons are
harnessing new technology for a very old accessory—the folding fan. Mike
Corporation of Tokyo is using a new type of ink that reacts to ultraviolet light
to print the traditional flowery pictures on a fan. The stronger the UV rays,
the darker the colours become—telling users it’s time to get indoors or
hide under a UV-proof parasol. Clothes that cut out UV light are also popular in
Japan—not so much for health reasons but because it’s fashionable to have
milky white skin.
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