UV–vis transmittance spectroscopy is a technique for studying the effect of coating on the optical properties of fabrics. Transmittance spectra of pristine and AgNWs-loaded fabrics over the wavelength range of 280–400 nm are shown on Fig. 6. UV transmittance curve of pristine fabric indicates that high percentage of UV-A and UV-B, more than 25%, light can penetrate in cotton fabric. Pristine fabric absorbs about 75% of the radiation over the entire UV region. UV-blocking ability of pristine fabric on UV-B region is higher than UV-A. UV transmittance curve of AgNWs-loaded fabric indicates that the fabric can block high percentage of both UV-B and UV-A radiation. It is obvious that more than 99% of the radiation is absorbed by AgNWs-loaded fabric over the entire UV region. Transmittance spectra reveal that AgNWs loading can provide excellent UV-blocking to the cotton textiles in the whole UV region.