The Soway Story

To meet the growing demand for heavy-duty solar protection, Marie-Claire Castagné decided to specialize herself in the creation of anti-UV and anti-infrared hats.

The company headquarters are in her hometown of La Baule, in the Loire-Atlantique region. SOWAY also has an office in Paris.

After having had meetings with dermatologists and experts in skin care, Marie-Claire realized that something was still missing on the sun protection market: a lightweight hat, that would be very protective against UVs and remain cool despite sun. We all know that hats provide protection from the sun, but not all of them provide the same degree of protection, like different strength sunscreens.

Marie-Claire, surrounded by her husband and then by her daughter, aimed to create the most protective hat on the market. Nonetheless, a protective hat often means that it is a warm hat, so we remove it because it is heavy and uncomfortable. The winning formula: “Technical performance, lightweight and freshness” was the guideline for the company’s research and development process.

This aim was achieved and the technical development of Soway hats detains a patent.

Indeed, the « Soway » is the only hat that meets these 3 characteristics:

• ANTI-UV: VERY  HIGH SUN PROTECTION: SPF50+, following the most severe Australia and New-Zealand Skin Care standards  AS/NZS 4399
• LIGHTWEIGHT (less than 100 gr.): you keep this hat on your head
• ANTI-INFRARED: it repels the heat and remains cool despite the sun

Everything has been thought of for greater comfort and optimal efficiency:

• Every brim and visor is lined with dark fabric to decrease the reverberation dangers into the eyes and avoid AMD:
• It is ventilated,
• Its size is adjustable,
• It is easy to carry it in the bag provided with the hat.

In 2018, Loïck PEYRON was seduced by the qualities of these hats and decided to be part of Soway’s adventure by becoming a partner of the company. Thanks to his valuable advice, 2 models were created to meet the sun protection and comfort needs of outdoor activities, the “Loick^®” model and the “Happy^®” model.

Every hats’ components are French (the fabrics, ribbons etc.), the technical development is also done in France, and the manufacturing is done in Europe.

Its high technical performances in sun protection have enabled Soway to be a partner of French Dermatological Congresses since 2014.

Even if Soway hats are very technical, they do not have to be compared to “medical” hats. Indeed, the brand wanted to associate health with elegance and many celebrities wear them: Angelina Jolie and Princess Charlène of Monaco, amongst others…